A heifer found dead in eastern Gunnison County on Nov. 22 was killed by one of the yearlings from the Copper Creek wolf pack, according to a rancher, who did not want to be identified.

It’s the fourth livestock death in November attributed to wolves.

Two calves and a ewe were also killed by wolves in November in Routt, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The Copper Creek pack is believed to be responsible for numerous livestock deaths in Pitkin, Gunnison and Grand counties. One of the yearlings was killed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) staff in May in Pitkin County after a weekend of livestock killings; a second was shot by wildlife officers in Rio Blanco County in September after it killed six sheep.

The Copper Creek pack originated from a mating pair relocated from Oregon to Colorado. The male of the pair died shortly after being captured in August 2024, with that death attributed to injuries related to a gunshot wound.

The state wildlife agency captured the pack in the wake of multiple livestock killings attributed to the mating pair. The mother and four of the five yearlings were released in January in Pitkin County, and within a few months, the yearlings were killing livestock.

John Williams, the co-chair of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association Wolf Committee, who served as the Eastern Oregon Wolf Committee Chair, told the Fence Post in Dec. 2023 that “once a pack starts to depredate on livestock, they tend to include livestock in their diet in the future. It does not say they always eat livestock, but it’s more like they acquire a taste for it, they like it, and they stay on it, and they may not.”

Ranchers were paid more than $500,000 for livestock deaths in 2024, as well as for lower birth rates and market weights.

Wolves have killed at least 36 cattle, sheep, and a working dog in 2025. The Colorado wildlife agency reported 29 livestock killed by wolves in 2024, although ranchers have said they believe the numbers are much higher.

CPW is currently working to find more wolves to bring to Colorado. The agency signed an agreement with the British Columbia government, but that agreement is on hold after an Oct. 10 letter from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service told CPW it was not allowed to bring in wolves from anywhere other than Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and the eastern portions of Utah, Washington, and Oregon.

The board of the Washington Fish & Wildlife Department rejected Colorado’s request for wolves last month. No other state has agreed to send more to Colorado so far.