DENVER – A female wolf reintroduced from Canada last year was accidentally mistaken for a coyote when she was shot and killed by a hunter in January, state wildlife officials said Monday.
Those are the findings of a monthslong investigation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which determined that a licensed hunter shot and killed the female wolf on Jan. 16, 2026.
A spokesperson for the agency said the hunter, who promptly reported the incident to CPW and cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, was given a $140 citation and five suspension points on his license for violating CPW regulations.
The agency is not pursuing any other charges against the hunter, the CPW spokesperson said.
“Unlawful take of protected species is a criminal act that can carry serious penalties. Through CPW’s thorough investigative process we recognized that the hunter made the ethical choice to immediately report the incident and take responsibility for the accident,” said Ty Petersburg, Chief of Law Enforcement and Assistant Director of Field Services for CPW in a prepared statement.
The wolf was part of the group that was transferred from Canada to Colorado in January 2025.
Watch our coverage on that release in the video player below.
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, which starts with our most recent story.
Denver7 in-depth wolf coverage
The below list outlines an overview of the known wolf population in Colorado:
- Four 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, a third wolf became sickly and died, a fourth died in Wyoming, a fifth died during a re-collaring operation in February 2026, and a sixth died in northwest Colorado the following month)
- Three wolves surviving of the five wolf pups born in the spring of 2024 (one male was killed by CPW after multiple depredations in Pitkin County and a second male was shot for the same reasons in September 2025, which it survived, and again in June, when it was killed)
- Eight wolves surviving from the 15 that were released in January 2025 (one was shot and killed by Wildlife Services in Wyoming, a second died of unknown causes in Wyoming, a third died in Rocky Mountain National Park, a fourth died in northwest Colorado, the fifth died in northwest Colorado after it was likely hit by a car, a sixth died in southwestern Colorado, and a seventh died in northwest Colorado)
- At least 14 pups born in four packs in 2025: Two in the Copper Creek Pack, four in the King Mountain Pack, five in the One Ear Pack and three in the Three Creeks Pack
- One of the pups born into the One Ear Pack was lethally removed by CPW on Aug. 4, 2026 after multiple depredations on calves in Jackson and Grand counties
- Two wolves that moved south from Wyoming several years ago have been collared and are now members of the One Ear Pack