A gray wolf was found dead in Rocky Mountain National Park/USFWS file
A gray wolf has been found dead in Rocky Mountain National Park, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials.
According to a release from department, a mortality alert was received from the wolf’s collar on Sunday April 20. The agency, in cooperation with the National Park Service, confirmed that the mortality took place in Rocky Mountain National Park. No cause of death was immediately provided, pending a necropsy, the release said.
As a federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating. The wolf was part of the group of wolves translocated to Colorado from British Columbia under a recovery program voted into existence in 2020 by Colorado voters. No additional details were provided.
“Wolf survival in Colorado is within normal margins for a wolf population in the Rocky Mountains,” the release said. “Any reintroduction effort includes eventual mortality levels and these were incorporated into the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan. Mortality is a factor that plays a role in all natural populations. The average lifespan of a gray wolf in the Rocky Mountains is generally 3-4 years.”
