Latest gray wolf activity map released by CPW

The October 2026 Collared Gray Wolf Activity Map was released last week by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The map displays wolf activity throughout the state from Sept. 22 to Oct. 27. This map indicates watersheds where at least one GPS point from a collared wolf was recorded within the last 30 days.
Just because a watershed is highlighted does not mean that wolves have traveled throughout the entire watershed or currently occupy it, CPW said in a news release.
While this map provides general information about wolf activity to the public, CPW’s primary avenue for relaying movement to livestock producers is through direct communication by its dedicated field staff, the agency said.

Wolf activity updates

• CPW is currently monitoring four reproducing packs in Northwest Colorado.

Wolf pups in Colorado are approximately 6 months old at this time of year. Pups are now able to move broadly with the adult members of their packs, as opposed to the summer months when they are less mobile and tied to homesites.

Biologists are actively monitoring these packs through several methods like game cameras, observations, and GPS collars to track the composition of each pack, gather minimum pup counts, and understand movement.

• A highlighted watershed indicates that at least one GPS collared wolf was within that watershed during the month. It does not mean that wolves have traveled throughout the entire watershed or currently occupy it. 

Please note this map only reflects the activity of collared wolves and does not capture the activity of uncollared wolves.

• CPW’s Wildlife Damage Specialists and wildlife managers are working closely with producers to implement various conflict minimization tools and techniques on operations with localized wolf activity nearby. 
• CPW has a number of resources for living with wolves available through its website for people living or recreating in areas with wolf activity.

Mid-year population counts

CPW’s biologists work year-round to monitor and manage Colorado’s wolf population using a variety of methods. For monitoring, this includes tracking the GPS uploads of collared wolves as well as gathering images and videos from remote cameras and field observations from staff. These efforts allow CPW to track pack formation, reproduction, and population changes, and provide a yearly minimum population count as part of the agency’s annual report each spring.

Last month, in response to recent public concern about the state’s wolf population, CPW shared a mid-year population count, including pups born this year. As previously reported, Colorado is now home to four reproducing wolf packs, a fifth pack of four siblings that travel together, and several wolves that do not live in packs that could potentially pair this winter. 

Through monitoring efforts, CPW staff detected 45 gray wolves as of Sept. 24, 2026. This count included a high count of 20 pups born in Colorado this year. Typical survival rates of pups range between 50% and 60% in Western wolf populations, so this number is expected to decrease by the end of the biological year in March 2027. These efforts have also allowed CPW biologists to recognize evidence of hair loss in multiple wolves in two packs in Northwest Colorado. This hair loss could be associated with an infectious skin parasite and, if so, could impact wolf survival. No final diagnosis has been confirmed at this time. The agency will share further details when the investigation is complete.

Range riding update

The majority of range riders contracted through the Colorado Range Riding program began wrapping up their seasons this month as livestock shift off large open ranges and public allotments to sale, the Eastern Plains, or private lands. While some riders will stay on to assist with wolf activity on private lands, after the grazing season, riders generally become less essential and other conflict minimization tools — such as fladry and scare devices — become more practical.

It’s dispersal season for wolves

Dispersal season has arrived in Colorado. Here are facts about what that means.

• Wolves are most likely to disperse from their packs during the fall and winter months.

Although dispersal is most common when wolves are 1 to 3 years old, wolves of any age can disperse.

• While dispersing, wolves can cover long distances in search of mates and an unoccupied territory.

The animation above compares the scope of movements of a dispersing adult female wolf (the white line) to a territorial breeding female (the purple line) in 2025.

• Dispersing is a risky act for wolves, which cover broad landscapes with many potential threats, like road crossings, other predators, and unfamiliar landscapes.

Research indicates that dispersing wolves have shorter life expectancies than those in established packs.

• Research shows male wolves are more likely to disperse, while females are more likely to inherit the territory when their mother or another female relative dies.
• Although dangerous, dispersing is crucial to the establishment of new packs and therefore increases the chances of reproduction.
• Young adults will often leave their pack for shorter periods of time before truly dispersing.

These are called exploratory movements and can be indistinguishable from dispersal movement when they are happening.

Some wolves that make these exploratory movements do not end up dispersing, but instead return and stay in their natal packs.

• Wolves that do not disperse continue to contribute to their pack through hunting, territory protection, and bringing food to pups.

These wolves may eventually have an opportunity to breed in their pack without dispersing. Even if they do not breed, they benefit from higher survival rates and by helping raise their relatives.