Reintroduced Colorado wolf dies – third fatality in group of 10 animals released

Another of the wolves released in Colorado last year has died – the third death among the 10 wolves released under the state's historic and controversial reintroduction program.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife received a death signal from the male wolf's collar on Monday, and on Tuesday wildlife officials confirmed the wolf's death, the agency said in a news release Thursday. The wolf was identified as 2307-OR and was found dead in Grand County.

“While this is sad news, the expected mortality rate is taken into account when planning these recovery efforts. And as with all wildlife, some mortality rate in wolves is to be expected both during recovery efforts and in the long term,” CPW Director Jeff Davis said in the press release.

The agency declined to provide further information about the possible cause of the wolf's death.

“As stated in our announcement, this is an active investigation and no further information will be shared at this time,” CPW spokesman Travis Duncan said in an email.