Colorado’s voter-initiated reintroduction of gray wolves has thrust a new predator into the High Country. 

There are currently around 30 wolves in the state — a combination of reintroduced animals from Oregon and British Columbia, pups and those that have traveled from neighboring states. For the most part, wolf activity has been concentrated in the northwest counties of Grand, Summit, Routt, Eagle, Jackson and Pitkin — placing the animals in areas where Coloradans are living, ranching and recreating. 

The Vail Daily spoke with Brenna Cassidy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s expert wolf biologist, on what living alongside the predators will look like as the population continues to grow.  

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How often will you see wolves? 

At the most basic level, it’s extremely unlikely that humans will see or encounter wolves.

“Generally, wolves are pretty shy of humans,” Cassidy said. “They’re really not interested in being around us at all.”

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Compared to some of Colorado’s other predators, wolves are “much less tolerant of humans” than black bears and even more shy of coming near humans than mountain lions, she added. 

“Even if wolves are in the same area, most people will never know that they’re in proximity to a wolf,” Cassidy said. “Wolves have way better hearing and a way better sense of smell than we do. So as soon as they kind of hear a human, smell a human, they’re probably going to get out of the area.” 

With a low likelihood, there are still a few things that could lead to encounters or sightings. 

First is the season. Wolves den in the summer, Cassidy said. While wolves are most likely to choose a den site away from humans, they also travel less during these months. 

“When wolves are denning, it’s the only time of year that they’re really kind of like stuck to one spot,” she said. “The rest of the year, wolves are traveling around. They have a territory, but they can go anywhere within that territory. When pups are really young, they’re not very mobile, so they are stuck to that den site.”

In North America, reports of wolves following humans in the wild often are related to den locations, Cassidy said. In these cases, the wolves are most likely watching the humans to make sure they don’t pose a danger to the den and pups. 

While there are very few examples of humans having physical encounters with wolves over the last few decades, they usually occur for one reason, Cassidy said.

“They’re often associated with people feeding wolves,” she said. “Feeding wildlife is a bad idea for any species, not just wolves. It’s not a favor to them. It’s not helping.”

As the population grows, the likelihood of sightings and encounters will remain low — as the wolves’ attitude toward humans won’t change — but chances of more accidental sightings could occur, Cassidy noted.

How to recreate safely with wolves, and what to do if you see one 

For those who hike, camp, bike, run and recreate on the Western Slope where wildlife and predators already exist, doing so with wolves on the landscape should not change human behavior much. 

Whether it’s securing food and keeping sites clean when camping, making noise when in the wilderness, keeping dogs leashed or close by, or carrying bear spray — these practices will be as important with wolves as they are with other predators and wildlife like moose, mountain lions and bears. 

Wolves and dogs are both canids, but there remains a chance for conflict, Cassidy said. 

“Having a dog with you recreating might be more interesting to some wildlife, including wolves, than not having a dog with you,” she said. “If you do encounter a wolf, making sure that your dog is next to you and under control, tells that wolf that this is a dog that’s with a human not just some other canid running around the woods.”

On the rare chance that you encounter a wolf in Colorado, your reaction should also be similar to other wildlife. Cassidy noted that the most likely situation is that the wolf will run away quickly. 

“If a wolf still doesn’t leave, and this is kind of similar to other wildlife, you can start to yell, act more aggressive, you know, loudly clap, kind of look like a threat to that wolf,” Cassidy said. “If a wolf is coming toward someone or acting aggressively, just like any other species, you can also bear spray that wolf.”

Where will wolves be?

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has indicated that more wolves in Colorado will lead to more pack formations. With packs, the wolves will begin to establish territories and their movements will become more predictable. Right now, the wolves in the state are still predominantly as singles or pairs and traveling large distances. In February, one wolf traveled around 400 miles.  

Part of this exploration includes learning where food sources, as well as humans are.

“Wolves are new to Colorado, but they’re going to learn where the densest populations of humans are, whether that’s recreation or towns or things like that,” Cassidy said. “They’re going to very likely learn to avoid those areas for the most part. They still have to travel from place to place so they might be crossing trails or using old gated forest service roads as ways to travel.”

With this, people could see tracks even if seeing the wolves themselves remains unlikely. 

In addition to avoiding humans, wolves are crepuscular, meaning they are neither nocturnal nor diurnal. 

“They’re most active around dawn hours and around dusk hours,” Cassidy said. 

In the summer, during the hottest hours, it’s very common for wolves to find shade and sleep through the afternoon. 

“So during those prime hours that people are around hiking, biking, recreating, things like that, wolves are trying to stick to somewhere where they’re just going to try and relax and get through the heat of the day,” Cassidy said. 

Parks and Wildlife uses GPS collars on wolves to monitor their location and behavior. However, the agency also relies on reports of suspected sightings and encounters. Cassidy encouraged members of the public to report any sightings — particularly those that are unusual — through the agency’s website.