The gray wolf ranges across Eurasia and in North America from the Arctic to Mexico and from coast to coast. Once distributed statewide, the wolf is gone from Colorado. The last ones were killed by about 1940. Sometimes called "timber wolf," to distinguish it from coyotes, or "prairie wolf," wolves actually occupy a wide range of habitats. Once wolves fed on the vast herds of bison, elk and deer, supplemented by rabbits, rodents and carrion.

When market hunters decimated the large mammals that were their staple diet, wolves naturally turned to a new food resource in the developing frontier: Livestock. Because of their depredations of domestic animals, wolves in Colorado were systematically eradicated by shooting, trapping and poisoning.

Wolves are large dogs, up to five feet long (of which 14 inches is a bushy tail). The color is pale gray washed with buff and overlain on the back and legs with black.

Wolves den in burrows in banks where the female bears six to 10 pups in March after a nine-week gestation period. The male provides food for the nursing mother. A pair may have a hunting territory 10 square miles.

Proposals have been made to restore wolves to wilderness ecosystems of Colorado, where they could provide a natural check on populations of elk, for example. The suggestions have met with considerable opposition from some ranchers, however.

• Think you’ve seen a wolf in Colorado? Help biologists by filling out the Wolf Sighting Form (RTF file).

Researchers say dispersing wolves—especially single male wolves—can travel long distances. To prepare for any future wolf migrations into Colorado, the Division of Wildlife (DOW) has set up a multi-disciplinary work group that developed a draft Wolf Management Plan. The wolf working group's recommendations were adopted in their entirety by the Colorado Wildlife Commission at their May 2005 meeting.