CPW Kills Wolf Linked To Dozens Of Sheep Deaths In Northwest Colorado

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette

Wildlife officers shot and killed a wolf believed to be responsible for killing at least 22 sheep over the past year in a remote northwestern county, according to a state agency.

The animal came from the Copper Creek pack and is the 15th wolf to die in Colorado in the past two years. It’s also the second wolf from the Copper Creek pack to be shot by Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff due to chronic depredation of livestock.

Wildlife staff had been hunting for the wolf since last year and, at one point, believed they had shot it, but the animal survived and disappeared.

In a statement, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said that “visual evidence obtained at the scene confirmed the removed wolf is the same one that was depredating in Rio Blanco County in 2025 and early 2026.”

The agency added that the wolf had originally been part of the Copper Creek Pack but had not been with that group since September 2024.

The wolf traveled to Routt County, where it killed two more sheep on June 10 and June 11.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE