Colorado wildlife officers kill gray wolf linked to attacks on 22 sheep

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials on Friday killed a gray wolf that attacked 22 sheep on the Western Slope since last summer, agency officials said.

After Parks and Wildlife agents “lethally removed” the uncollared gray wolf in Routt County, agency officials were able to confirm it was the same wolf that attacked livestock in Rio Blanco County in 2025 and early 2026.

Most recently the wolf attacked two sheep in Routt County on Wednesday and Thursday, state officials said in a news release Saturday.

Agency leaders did not specify whether all of the sheep attacks were fatal, and spokesperson Luke Perkins said more information will be included in a final report published on Parks and Wildlife’s website.

Ranchers tried to deter the wolf by sending out range riders, using livestock guardian dogs and “scare devices,” having herders present with the sheep and applying for non-lethal hazing permits, state officials said.

The ranchers worked with the wildlife agency to use “all viable and reasonable non-lethal tools and techniques” to stop the attacks, Parks and Wildlife Director Laura Clellan said in a statement.

“The decision to pursue lethal actions is never an easy one, but the circumstances around this wolf’s repeated depredation history made this a difficult but necessary decision,” Clellan said.

The wolf was originally part of the Copper Creek Pack but has not been part of the pack since September 2024, state officials said.

Colorado’s handling of gray wolf reintroduction has remained in the spotlight since voters approved the measure in 2020.

Parks and Wildlife’s reintroduction efforts are being reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which received tens of thousands of public comments about the program as of last week. One comment came from a Western Slope rancher who said her employee killed a wolf in March as it was running toward cows and calves.

The state previously rejected her application and appeal for a lethal take permit, she said.

State officials also are spending more money to reimburse ranchers for wolf attacks than is allocated to the program, approving more than $1.3 million in claims compared with $875,000 set aside as of this spring. The agency has said it has the money to pay for future claims.

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