Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed released wolves have likely established a den in the vicinity of where recent wolf depredations of livestock have taken place.

That information was detailed in agency director Jeff Davis’ April 23 letter responding to the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association’s request to have the wolves responsible for the depredations near Kremmling lethally removed.

“Removing the male breeder at this point would be irresponsible management and potentially cause the den to fail, possibly resulting in the death of the presumed pups,” Davis wrote. “This is not a desirable result and I am therefore not going to take action at this time to lethally remove this animal.”

At least two of the released wolves have been involved in the killings of five cattle in three separate incidents over 16 days in the same general area. That prompted the stockgrowers association to write letters to Davis, the governor and others requesting removal of the wolves.

In his response letter, Davis said the wolf that could be responsible for the depredations is the male of a pair believed to be denning. The female’s collar indicates she is likely in a den, he wrote.

“In April, GPS points stopped uploading and very recently those points began to upload again,” he wrote. “Thepoints for this female’s collar are showing a very localized position. The biological interpretation of this is that she was likely in a den during the time when connectivity with the collar was interrupted, which aligns with the expected timing of wolf reproduction.”

If confirmed, it would mark the first den from the wolves reintroduced into Colorado in late December.

It also would mark the first time wolves have been known to den in Colorado since the parents of the North Park pack naturally migrated to Colorado and gave birth to six pups in the spring of 2021.

“We all figured up here there was a den,” said Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association. “CPW has been telling us the collars aren’t working and our guess was the female was denned up.”

Those 10 wolves from eastern Oregon were released in late December into Grand County, where Kremmling is located, and Summit County and include two adult males from different packs, two now 2-year-old males from different packs and six now 2-year-old females from various packs. Wolves are considered to be of breeding age at ages 2 to 3.

Retired wolf expert Carter Niemeyer told the Coloradoan in a story that published online April 22 that so many recent wolf depredations in one area of Grand County might mean the wolves have started to den in the area.

“The toughest decision with all of this is what if you have pups in a den right near where those recent depredations took place,” he said in the story.

Ranchers have been riled up over the discovery previously reported by the Coloradoan that identified five of the 10 wolves released into Colorado belonged to Oregon packs that had confirmed livestock depredations between July 2023 and when they were captured in December 2023, according to Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf depredation reports.

Most wolf experts agree depredating livestock is a behavior learned from wolf parents.

In his letter, David said the removal of wolves will be considered once wolves become reestablished.

“The wolf population in Colorado is far below any restoration goal,” Davis wrote. “We have the legal duty toestablish a self-sustaining population of wolves while minimizing conflict risk. Any consideration of lethal removal will be carefully deliberated to ensure it does not conflict with these legally mandated restoration goals. As the wolf population in Colorado grows, and as we get to points where we enter different management phases, the approach to lethal removals will likely become more liberal.”

He also said he recognizes the stress the depredations have caused ranchers but hopes the two sides can work together to minimize losses.

“It’s not lost on me that these very tense times are putting a great deal of strain on our relationships,” he wrote. “We hope that no matter what, we can continue to work together to successfully avoid and minimize impacts on the agricultural industry while restoring wolves to Colorado.”

Davis’ letter came the same day the first report of a released wolf’s death was confirmed in Larimer County.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado officials believe wolves have den in vicinity of recent kills