Some of Colorado’s collared wolves have moved south of Interstate 70 for the first time since their reintroduction to the state in December 2023, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

While the eight collared wolves roaming across Colorado largely stayed in the north-central mountains and plains during October, at least some of the wolves have expanded their territory south of I-70, according to a new tracking map released Sunday.

The wolves’ new territory includes most of Lake County north of Colorado 82, according to the map.

“This kind of wildlife activity was anticipated,” wildlife officials said in the map release. “… As wolf population numbers grow, some wolves will migrate to establish new territories.”

The state’s known wolf population now stands at 14: seven survivors among the 10 adults reintroduced by the state last year, plus five pups from the Copper Creek pack and two adults from a pack established earlier by wolves that migrated from Wyoming.

One of the reintroduced wolves and four of her pups remain in captivity after CPW biologists removed them from the wild in late August and early September.

A fifth non-collared pup from the pack remains in the wild after CPW ceased attempts to capture it.

Only eight of the wolves roaming Colorado are collared and able to be tracked by Colorado wildlife officials.

Wolves are habitat generalists, meaning they can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and habitats, according to wildlife officials.

As long as prey is available, wolves can use a variety of areas and are expected to expand their territory widely over time.

CPW said anyone who believes they have seen a wolf should fill out the wolf sighting form on their website.