June 11, 2021 - DENVER -  At least three wolf pups have been born in the North Park area of Colorado, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Gov. Jared Polis. These are the first wolves known to have been born in the wild in the state since 1926 or 1927.

“Congratulations to these first-time parents and may the newborn pups live long, happy and prosperous lives in this land rich with elk and bunnies,” said Michael Robinson at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These newborn pups will find a state that is legally on the side of the wolves and that will soon import their future mates through reintroduction. This is thankfully a far cry from hostile situation facing the last wolf pups born in Colorado almost a century ago.”

In the 1920s, the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey, funded by congressional and state appropriations, as well as county and private funds, worked to systematically trap and poison every wolf in the state on behalf of the livestock industry.

The last native-born wolf in Colorado was trapped and killed by the federal government in 1945 in Conejos County, according to federal records. In recent years, lone wolves have arrived in the state. In 2019 and early 2020, six wolves together were observed in Colorado, but that apparent pack has not been reported lately.

Colorado voters in November approved Proposition 114, requiring reintroduction of wolves to begin by December 2023.

“One wolf family is not enough,” said Robinson. “For genetic sustainability of a population, and to ensure that the many animals and plants that rely indirectly on wolves benefit from their presence, the state needs a community of new wolves. We’ll get that through reintroduction.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Source: Center for Biological Diversity