This is old news, but it was news to me. The Colorado Division of Wildlife believes they have evidence of wolf migration into Colorado. They even posted a video. It appears a male wolf may have crossed the border with Wyoming to possibly establish territory or to look for a mate. Of course, this doesn't really constitute a migration as he might of just crossed back over into Wyoming. But as the gray wolf population grows (estimates have 3,800 in the lower 48) and with the incredible range of these animals, such migrations could continue. Thankfully, any wolf in Colorado is currently protected under USFWS regulations as it is still listed as an endangered species. But western states (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Colorado) are drafting their own management plans to handle wolves as they will become responsible if wolves are taken off the endangered species list. Currently, the de-listing of the wolf is expected to become a protracted legal battle.I mentioned the incredible range of these animals. They can defend territory ranging from 50 to 1,000 square miles. For fun, I calculated the rough distance a wolf might have migrated if this sighting (north of Walden, CO) was a Yellowstone wolf (see Yahoo map - about 500 miles). The Colorado DOW found no tag or collar that would indicate it was a Yellowstone wolf and it is possible that it migrated from another state (Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Arizona all were part of a reintroduction program as well as Wyoming/Yellowstone). Still, it is sort of fun to imagine these animals traveling these distances.
You can read more about the gray wolf here:
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