3 Colorado wolf pups captured on video are proven to belong to the Grand County pack

The first introduced wolf pack in Colorado has three confirmed pups, at least one of which weighs between 30 and 40 pounds.

The news comes after Mike Usalavage posted a video on social media on August 17 showing the lanky pups playing in a rain puddle and wrestling with each other on a dirt road in an undisclosed location. A few minutes into the video, Usalavage's passenger says he spotted the mother, who CPW says was with them.

Two small dogs sitting in the vehicle begin to whine and bark as they watch the gray and white puppies splashing in the water. But the wolves don't seem to notice the vehicle and its passengers at all, or at least don't seem to be bothered by them.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife shared the video on Instagram around 2 p.m. on Monday, writing that their wolf biologists reviewed it and confirmed its authenticity. They also took the opportunity to update viewers on the pups' activities, writing:

“You can see how the wolf cubs are completely focused on playing with each other. While playing, wolf cubs can not only practice hunting behavior, but also learn to communicate effectively with other wolves. This skill will serve them throughout their lives as social creatures that live in packs.”

In a second video posted by Usalavage on Monday afternoon, an adult wolf is clearly interacting with the pups.

CPW first confirmed in June that a single cub was born in Colorado's first introduced wolf pack, and said at the time that it was likely that up to five cubs were born.

They suspected this based on location data that showed a female's collar had stopped transmitting GPS coordinates, but began sending data again later in the month. The agency said it will continue to monitor the den area to see if there are any more cubs, but today's video is the first known confirmation of additional cubs.

With the video showing the pups chasing each other from the shade into the sunlight, seemingly in an aspen grove along the road, CPW reminded viewers that if they live or spend their recreation time in the foothills or mountains of Colorado, they are in wolf country.

“Wolves are wild animals and should be treated with respect like any other wild animal,” they said. And they encouraged anyone who believes they have seen a wolf to fill out the Wolf Sighting Form, as the information will help their biologists monitor wolves and their movements in Colorado.

Each month, the agency releases an updated map showing the current range of the reintroduced wolves. This map is based on GPS collar data from all collared wolves in Colorado. The most recent map, released on July 23, shows them spanning about a third of the state, mostly through the center.

Despite repeated requests for Usalavage to reveal the location of the sighting, this had not happened by 5:30 p.m. on CPW's Instagram account, as a debate among the 257 commenters highlighted the divide between wolf lovers and wolf haters.

In December, wolves were introduced into Colorado west of the Continental Divide after Colorado voters narrowly approved Proposition 114 in November 2020, which directed state wildlife agencies to begin reintroducing wolves by the end of 2023.

When a pair of the 10 wolves released on state land reproduced, that family group was considered a pack, dubbed the Copper Creek Pack by state wildlife authorities. One of the relocated wolves, a year-old female, was killed in Larimer County, likely by a mountain lion. These are the first gray wolf births since the animals were reintroduced at the direction of Colorado voters. In the spring of 2021, at least three pups were born in Jackson County to a pair of wolves that naturally migrated to Colorado from Wyoming. This litter was the first in Colorado since the species was extirpated 80 years earlier.

Story Type: News

Based on facts either directly observed and verified by the reporter or reported and verified by knowledgeable sources.