Where did Colorado’s gray wolf population travel in July?

For the first time since they were reintroduced to the state in December, Colorado gray wolves have moved out of central Grand County, state wildlife officials said in their July report.

In July, the eleven wolves and one pup stayed relatively in the same watersheds as in May and June, traveling between Routt, Jackson, Larimer, Grand, Eagle and Summit counties. a new location map released Tuesday by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

CPW releases a map every month showing which watersheds the state’s collared wolves have traveled, conservationists said. A wolf may or may not remain there, and it may not have crossed every part of that watershed.

The updated map shows wolf activity from June 25 through July 23 in watersheds from the Wyoming border to Interstate 70 and from west of Craig in Moffat County to west of Fort Collins in Larimer County.

While the monthly maps from December to June show wolves using watersheds in Grand County up to the Boulder County border, the July map shows a lack of data in the area, indicating that wolves do not use the area at all in July visited.

The collars record a GPS position every four hours and send the data to state biologists once four locations are recorded, CPW officials said. State officials do not share specific locations to protect wolves and may “buffer” maps to protect wolves during certain times of the year, such as mating season.

Although the July map highlighted watersheds south of Interstate 70, CPW officials said no wolves had crossed the major highway and the population was exploring land to the north.