A wolf was responsible for the death of a cow in Jackson County on Feb. 5. The culprit is likely a new wolf to Colorado that was not part of the state’s reintroduction efforts.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the depredation on Friday and reported that the wolf responsible was not one of the 28 that it tracks with GPS collars. The agency has functioning collars on all 22 surviving wolves it has brought from British Columbia and Oregon, on four of the Copper Creek Pack pups and on two wolves that entered Colorado from Wyoming in 2021.  

While Parks and Wildlife is aware of at least two uncollared wolves in the state — one that recently entered from a neighboring state and has been in Moffat County as well as one of the Copper Creek wolf pups that was never captured — it also said that neither are responsible for the cow’s death in Jackson County.  

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In a news release, the agency reported that the fifth pup “was confirmed to be in another location of the state at the time” and that the wolf in northwest Moffat County “is also not believed to be involved.”

While the origin of the wolf responsible for the cow’s death is unknown, Parks and Wildlife said that the movement of wolves from other states to Colorado is “normal and expected.” 

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A Jackson County rancher reported the depredation of its pregnant cow to their local Parks and Wildlife officer on Feb. 5. The agency reported that a “field investigation found injuries consistent with wolf depredation on a cow.” 

While these investigations rely on evidence like nearby wolf scat and tracks as well as teeth marks, certain attack and feeding characteristics can also indicate a wolf kill. According to Parks and Wildlife’s depredation guide for ranchers, wolves will often attack from behind leaving rake marks on the animal’s hock and hindquarters or attack the head and throat. 

The confirmed depredation only included one cow. However, Jackson County rancher Don Gittleson said that the incident is likely to cast suspicion on other livestock losses now that a wolf was known to be in the area.  

“There are some people that had lost some animals, but they didn’t think they had wolves around so they didn’t have (their deaths) investigated,” Gittleson said. “We haven’t had the snow here that Steamboat has and it’s a lot easier to know wolves are around if you’ve got plenty of snow and there’s a lot of wolf tracks around. When it’s on bare ground, it’s kind of hard to tell.”  

Gittleson is involved in both the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. While he has dealt with wolf depredations previously, this most recent death was not on his ranch. However, Gittleson said that the ranch where it occurred has also previously dealt with wolves killing livestock and thus has deployed a few nonlethal deterrents. 

“​​When you have this problem, you don’t just sit there and let them come in and get your livestock. You’re always going to try to be doing something to keep (wolves) away,” Gittleson said. “The problem with the wolves is they’re not predictable… There’s not a perfect solution.” 

Even though the animal was still killed, what deterrents the rancher did have likely kept the wolf or wolves from “making a meal of the cow,” he speculated. 

Ranchers in Jackson County have seen wolves migrating down from Wyoming for some time now, according to Gittleson. Most recently, there were sightings in December, which led Gittleson to suspect that there were two gray wolves without working collars in the area. 

Parks and Wildlife has stated that local field staff will inform producers when wolves are known to be spending time in their area, aiding with site assessments and deploying nonlethal deterrence measures in these instances.

However, these local employees are limited in the information they can provide, Gittleson said. 

“Personally, and I think for quite a few of the ranchers, I get along pretty well with the (Parks and Wildlife staff) on the ground that we deal with on a daily basis,” Gittleson said. “But there are things that they cannot say and wouldn’t say normally anyway.”

Gittleson said they will share when the collar data shows that a wolf is in the area. However, this data is several hours old by the time they receive it.  

Parks and Wildlife receives collar data every 16 hours. This data includes four locations, showing where the wolves were located every four hours. 

The livestock loss in Jackson County is the first confirmed wolf depredation in Colorado this year, according to Parks and Wildlife. The agency confirmed 17 depredation events in 2024.

Ranchers are eligible for compensation up to $15,000 per animal from the state’s Wolf Depredation Compensation Fund. The funds cover any physical trauma that has resulted in the injury or death of livestock or working dogs, and that a wolf has been confirmed to be responsible for.  

Since wolves were reintroduced in Colorado, Parks and Wildlife has paid out three claims totaling over $3,850 and eight claims are pending. Seven of these claims have been added to the agency’s document tracking these events since Jan. 6 for events previously confirmed in 2024. Ranchers were able to submit claims for 2024 up until Dec. 31. In December, Grand County ranchers submitted three of these claims totaling around $582,000. 

Following the depredation events last year — including repeated killings from the Copper Creek Pack in Grand County — the agency has been working to roll out more programs and practices that minimize conflict with livestock and wolves. 

In the last year, Parks and Wildlife has launched a guide on nonlethal practices and resources, refined the process behind offering producers free site assessments, released a definition of chronic depredation and guidance for taking lethal action, created a Range Rider program, and more.