California wildlife officials have confirmed there’s a new wolf pack in the northern part of the state, as the population of the endangered candids — and the number of livestock they have preyed on — continues to rise.
The freshly minted Grizzly pack is roaming southern Plumas County and consists of at least two adults and a pup, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported this week.
The pack consists of a male wolf that came over from Oregon and a female from the state’s Lassen pack. Recently, state wildlife officials also got photos of a wolf pup believed to be theirs.
The news comes on the heels of the Beyem Seyo pack’s demise last month, when the Fish and Wildlife Department euthanized four wolves that had killed a large number of cattle in the Sierra Valley — marking the first time in about a century that state officials had taken lethal action against the animals.
“As difficult of a decision as that was to make, from a conservation point of view, the population data that we’re getting does continue to suggest that the population is growing and is robust,” said Axel Hunnicutt, gray wolf coordinator for the agency. The action was taken after a months-long campaign of using non-lethal deterrents, he said.
The Beyem Seyo pack shifted to a new area in October, and new wolves quickly moved into their old stomping ground, one sign that the population is strong, he said.
With one pack gained and one pack lost, the state’s total remains at 10.
It’s estimated that there are about 50 to 70 wolves in the Golden State. Although it’s a relatively small number, it represents a stunning recovery for the apex predators, which were hunted and trapped into extinction in the 1920s. Wolves began recolonizing California only 14 years ago.
New reports from the Fish and Wildlife Department suggest more wolves are on the way.
There are two areas where wolf activity indicates packs are likely to form, Hunnicutt said. There were also at least 31 pups born this year to packs in California, though some have died, and mortality in general is high during the first year of life. The Whaleback pack, in eastern Siskiyou County, had 10 pups this year — tying a record for the species, Hunnicutt said. Another breeding season will arrive in spring.
Many of the current packs consist of just two wolves that are fairly young, which means they may not breed the first year. That creates “a lag,” he explained.
“So what I suspect is that this year we might not see a massive amount of growth, or it might just be steady,” he said. But in a year or two, “probably the vast majority of these groups will be breeding and producing anywhere between six and 10 pups.”
Wolves’ recovery is celebrated by conservationists who want to see the native animals thrive. The growing number of wolves, however, has rattled ranchers who lose cattle to them.
The Beyem Seyo pack was responsible for 88 livestock kills or injuries, which Hunnicutt called an “unprecedented” number. Not all wolves in the state go after cows, though. There are several packs in the state that aren’t near livestock, he noted.
“California wolf recovery is proceeding on a pretty good trajectory, population wise,” Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate with the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, said.
The fact that things get “shaken up,” with wolves dispersing and packs changing, is a good thing she said.
“You want to see that dynamism continuing in an evolving population,” she said.
Weiss sees wolves’ recovery as a testament to their protection under both the California and federal Endangered Species Acts.
There are three bills pending in the U.S. Congress, however, that would claw back federal protections, including one that would delist wolves as endangered nationwide, she said.
In 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted most wolves in the Lower 48. Weiss’ organization sued, and the following year a federal district court in California overturned the delisting. In September 2024, the federal wildlife agency appealed the decision.
If wolves were to be federally delisted, they would retain their state protections.
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