"Highlighting the watersheds where biologists located at least one collared wolf during the previous month - without revealing specific location data - the map showed that wolves have been present in Archuleta, Conejos, and Costilla counties, all of which border New Mexico. Wolves can cover up to 30 miles in a single day, and one collared wolf has traveled about 400 miles since she was reintroduced in January."
"State lines don't mean much to canids, but they are an issue for wildlife managers. After Colorado voters approved a ballot measure in November 2020 that directed the state to reintroduce wolves, state wildlife officials from Arizona and New Mexico raised concerns about Colorado's reintroduced wolves moving into their states - and messing with the recovery of Mexican gray wolves, the rarest subspecies of gray wolf in North America."
Colorado wolves, reintroduced in late 2023, have roamed widely and have been detected near the state's southern and western borders. Biologists located collared wolves in Archuleta, Conejos, and Costilla counties along the New Mexico border. Wolves can travel up to 30 miles a day; one collared female has covered about 400 miles since January. State boundaries offer little constraint on wolf movement but complicate wildlife management because of concerns about interactions with Mexican gray wolves. A 2023 memorandum among regional agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service commits signatories to notify each other and to capture and return wolves that stray across designated subspecies areas. Dispersing pups are likely to push wolves further toward neighboring states.
Read at High Country News
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