Another Colorado wolf is dead. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) responded to a mortality alert for male wolf 2507 on May 31, confirming the death on June 2, according to the Summit Daily. The wolf was found in the northwest corner of Colorado. Aside from reporting that it was a wolf associated with the wolves relocated from British Columbia in January, CPW has released no additional details.

The investigation is pending.

The May 31 death marks the sixth death this year and the ninth since the state moved forward with the voter-approved reintroduction effort in December 2023. Additional investigations into the April 20 death of a wolf in Rocky Mountain National Park and a May 15 death of a wolf in northwest Colorado are underway. Further, CPW lethally removed a Copper Creek Pack yearling because of continued livestock depredation in Pitkin County over Memorial Day weekend.

The state’s wolf population was estimated to be about 30 animals strong as of January, according to the Summit Daily and, despite the string of recent wolf deaths, CPW’s public information officer Travis Duncan, said that the level of “wolf survival in Colorado” was still within “normal margins.”

“It is important to note that wolf survival is often lower for dispersing, non-territorial wolves (of which the Colorado population is mostly made up of) than for territorial wolves,” said Duncan. “Any reintroduction effort includes eventual mortality levels and these were incorporated into the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan.”

The state’s wolf management plan calls for a translocation protocol review should the survival rate of reintroduced wolves drop below 70% over a six-month period. The current six-month survival rate is about 80%, according to the Summit Daily. CPW anticipates the state’s wolf population will continue to grow, especially with spring litters. CPW is currently monitoring four potential dens; however, at the moment, the agency doesn’t have an exact count of the number of new pups born this year.