Federally protected gray wolf found dead in Rocky Mountain National Park prompts investigation
Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists confirmed the death of a female gray wolf on April 20. As a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will lead the investigation.
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. – A gray wolf has been found dead in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, prompting an investigation into the death of this federally protected species.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) biologists confirmed the death of a female gray wolf on April 20. As a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will lead the investigation.
The female was part of a larger group of wolves that had transferred from British Columbia to Colorado.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the decline of the gray wolf population is credited to human predator control. Gray wolves can live as long as 15 years, although this may differ in varying environments in the U.S.
27 March 2025, Baden-Württemberg, Cleebronn: A European wolf (Canis lupus lupus) stands in an enclosure in the Tripsdrill wildlife paradise. (Bernd Weißbrod/picture alliance / Getty Images)
CPW officials state that the average lifespan of a gray wolf living in the Rocky Mountains is three to four years.
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"Any reintroduction effort includes eventual mortality levels and these were incorporated into the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan," CPW officials said in a statement. "Mortality is a factor that plays a role in all natural populations."
The final cause of death will not be determined until the investigation is complete.