Colorado wolf roams east of I-25 for first time

Driving the news: Colorado Parks and Wildlife's newest wolf activity map shows one collared wolf briefly traveled across the highway in a broad loop through southeastern Colorado before returning west.

• The lone wolf entered watersheds that extend into Pueblo, Otero and Las Animas counties, but that does not reflect its current location or the full extent of its movements.
• Officials emphasized the wolf was dispersing, a normal behavior for young wolves, who routinely leave their packs and travel hundreds of miles looking for mates and unclaimed territory.

Zoom in: I-25 has become an unofficial dividing line in Colorado's wolf debate since the predator's first reintroduction to the Western Slope in December 2023.

• Most wolf activity has stayed west of the Front Range since then.

The bottom line: Even though wolves are not establishing packs this far east, it shows they're willing — and able — to move across more of the state than many Coloradans may have expected.