Colorado Parks and Wildlife said Monday that a female wolf from British Columbia that died in January was shot by a hunter who mistook her for a coyote.

The wolf, identified as 2504‑BC, was one of 17 wolves relocated since April 2024 that have since died. Her death occurred in northwest Colorado, though CPW did not specify the county.

In a statement, CPW said the hunter “promptly reported the incident to CPW  and cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation.” 

“Unlawful take of protected species is a criminal act that can carry serious penalties. Through CPW’s investigative process, we determined that the hunter made the ethical choice to immediately report the incident and take responsibility for the mistake,” said Ty Petersburg, CPW’s chief of law enforcement and assistant director of field services.

CPW cited the hunter for violating CPW regulations, but said it would not pursue further charges.

Wolves are protected under both federal and state law, though Colorado’s wolf plan allows lethal removal in cases where animals repeatedly attack or kill livestock.

CPW staff have killed three wolves over the past year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service killed one — and possibly a second — from the British Columbia group that migrated from Colorado into Wyoming last year.

Ten other wolves came from Oregon in December 2023; of those 10, six have died, including the male of the breeding pair for the Copper Creek pack that killed dozens of livestock in Grand, Routt and Pitkin counties.

Of the five wolves from the Copper Creek pack, two have been killed by CPW staff for repeated attacks on livestock.

The breeding pair for the King Mountain pack also died, but the cause of death for both of those wolves has not been disclosed. That pair produced four pups earlier this year, according to CPW. The pack is based in Routt County.

Three new wolf packs were also born this year: the Piney Ridge pack in Eagle County, the One Ear pack in Jackson County, and the Three Creeks pack in Rio Blanco County. CPW did not say how many pups each pack produced, though the average litter size is four to six.

Wolves from the state’s relocation program have now killed more than 100 livestock and three working dogs since 2024. That includes 30 livestock and a working dog this year.

This year, CPW paid out more than $1 million for wolf depredations that took place in 2025.

For depredations in 2024, CPW received claims totaling $649,765.90 and paid out at least $425,478.61. That brings the total damages for just the first two years to $1.722 million.

The state’s wolf compensation fund receives $350,000 a year — less than half of what’s needed to reimburse ranchers who are losing livestock to wolves each month. CPW covers the shortfall with money from the Species Conservation Trust Fund, which gets $5 million annually, and from the Colorado Nongame Conservation and Wildlife Restoration Cash Fund, which brings in under $200,000 in donations each year.