Colorado’s newest wolf packs now have official names — and they’ve produced at least four new pups that are now trotting around Routt County.
The three new packs are the One Ear pack in Jackson County, the King Mountain pack in Routt County and the Three Creeks pack in Rio Blanco County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife says. The packs join the Copper Creek pack, which formed in 2024 and was the first in the state created by reintroduced wolves.
State officials are still trying to confirm the number of pups born this spring, said Eric Odell, the wolf conservation program manager, during a Thursday CPW Commission meeting. Odell did not provide a minimum number of pups observed from all of the packs, but he said at least four pups have been spotted with the King Mountain Pack.
The agency has cameras placed near each pack’s den and continues to monitor them, he said.
“Pups are just inherently difficult to monitor this time of year,” Odell said. “They’re small and, up until now, have been tied close to the den in deep cover.”
An average wolf litter has between four and six pups — about half of which will survive the year, Odell said.
Pups from the King Mountain Pack were captured on game cameras deployed by CPW. A video from June 21 showed three of the pups playing in a forested area. The pups were likely born in April and are now likely weaned, Odell said, but are still too small to travel with their parents.
“This reproduction is really key — it’s a really key point in the restoration of wolves to the state,” he said. “Despite some things you might hear, not all aspects of wolf management have been a failure.”
Ranching groups for more than a year have criticized CPW and have alleged that prevention programs were not fully operational before the agency released the first round of reintroduced wolves. Coloradans in 2020 narrowly voted to restore the native canines, with many urban voters casting their ballots in favor of the effort and rural voters opposing it.
CPW released 10 wolves in December 2023 and 15 in January 2025.
Also during Thursday’s meeting, commissioners voted to pay two Grand County ranches a total of $197,712 for missing calves, decreased conception rates and one killed calf that were attributable to wolves.
The state will pay $100,045 to the Farrell Ranch for missing calves. That payment adds to a $287,407 payment approved by the commission in March for 15 livestock killed by wolves in spring 2024 as well as for lower conception rates and lower calf weights caused by the presence of wolves on the ranch.
The Coberly Creek Ranch will receive $97,667: $1,603 for a killed calf, $65,204 for decreased conception rates and $30,860 for missing cattle.
CPW recommended denying the Farrell Ranch claim and the Coberly Creek Ranch’s claim for missing animals, but the commission overrode the staff recommendation and voted to pay both ranches their full claims.
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