RIO BLANCO COUNTY, Colo. — A wolf is responsible for the deaths of three sheep in Rio Blanco County over a two-week period, Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed Tuesday.
Two lambs and a ewe – a female sheep – were killed in three separate depredation events on July 20, July 22 and August 2, according to CPW’s published depredation information, and the agency has deemed it almost certain that an uncollared gray wolf is to blame.
The series of attacks meets CPW’s definition of “chronic depredation” outlined in its wolf-livestock conflict minimization program – three depredations caused by the same wolf or wolves within a 30-day period – and warrants lethal removal, CPW said.
However, the attacks happened in an area that is now under evacuation orders due to the Elk Fire burning nearby. The Elk Fire ignited on Aug. 2, the same day as the third depredation event, and has burned more than 13,000 acres with 0% containment as of midday Tuesday.
The wolf-livestock conflict minimization program also states that CPW must consider non-lethal measures to deter wolf attacks before it can kill a wolf responsible for chronic depredation. In this case, the agency said it deployed range riders to the property, which “supplemented existing non-lethal conflict minimization tools already deployed by the producer.”
Back in May, CPW killed a wolf believed to be involved in four deadly livestock attacks over eight days in Pitkin County. Last week, CPW announced it was working to kill a second Pitkin County wolf apparently to blame for another depredation on July 18.
- Denver7 visited ranchers in Pitkin County to hear their concerns about why the Copper Creek Pack, with a known depredation history, was re-released near their cattle. Read that in-depth story here.
CPW says it is “continuing to monitor” the situation and working to “minimize loss of livestock.”
"This is a truly unprecedented set of circumstances and my thoughts are with the firefighters and the emergency responders who are working to minimize damage in Rio Blanco County, as well as the producers and CPW's staff," CPW director Jeff Davis said in a statement Tuesday.
Denver7 in-depth wolf coverage
The below list outlines an overview of the known wolf population in Colorado:
- Seven wolves surviving from the original 10 that were released in December 2023 (one died of a likely mountain lion attack, a second died from injuries sustained prior to his capture as part of the Copper Creek Pack relocation effort, and a third wolf became sickly and died)
- Four of the five wolf pups born in the spring of 2024 (one male was killed after multiple depredations in Pitkin County)
- 10 wolves surviving from the 15 that were released in January 2025 (one was shot and killed by Wildlife Services in Wyoming earlier this month, a second died of unknown causes in Wyoming, a third died in Rocky Mountain National Park, a fourth died in northwest Colorado and the fifth also died in northwest Colorado)
- Unknown number of pups born in four packs in 2025
- Two wolves that moved south from Wyoming several years ago
- One uncollared wolf that was last known to be in northwest Moffat County in mid-February. It is not clear if it is alive or still in the state.
- Possible, but unconfirmed, wolf in the Browns Park area as of February. It is not clear if it is alive or still in the state.
Denver7 has been following Colorado's wolf reintroduction program since the very beginning, and you can explore all of that reporting in the timeline below. The timeline starts with our most recent story.