Wyoming’s wolves hit lowest population since 2005

Signs point to the first major outbreak of canine distemper since the state took over management.


Wyoming Game and Fish Department's wolf specialist Ken Mills tracks and tests wolves for disease on aerial flights each January. (Mark Gocke / Wyoming Game and Fish Department)

by Jenna McMurtry | KHOL | May 12, 2026 | Wildlife

From the seat of a helicopter, Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s wolf specialist Ken Mills knew something was off when he counted far fewer wolves than projected.

January aerial flights are a biologist’s rite of passage to start each new year, when scientists take advantage of the end of the fall hunting season to take an annual census. ... But this year looked a lot different.

“We have not recorded a disease outbreak that has caused a population level impact like we did this current year,” Mills told KHOL. ... All it took was a blood test in a few recaptured wolves to find high levels of canine distemper, an aggressive measles-like disease that attacks an animal’s respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.

It’s the leading hypothesis as to why the wolf population on state-managed land is down to historic lows. The wolves that tested negative for the disease the last two years tested positive this winter, Mills said.

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About Jenna McMurtry | KHOL
Jenna McMurtry joins KHOL from Colorado, where she first picked up radio at Aspen Public Radio and Colorado Public Radio. She covers health, immigration and the environment in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and recently, local politics. Before moving to Jackson, she studied History at Pomona College and frequently crashed her friend's radio shows. Outside the newsroom, she’s likely earning turns on the skin track, listening to live music or working on an art project.