10 Gray Wolf packs have been confirmed in California
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported earlier this year there were three new wolf packs in the state’s far north, bringing the total to 10 known wolf packs so far. In California gray wolves are classified as endangered under the US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Act, and under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).
According to the CDFW, gray wolves began natural recolonization of California beginning in 2011; the first pack was the Shasta Pack in 2015, which is no longer active. Most of the 10 confirmed named packs (see map below) are in northern California: Ashpan pack (eastern Shasta County), Beyem Seyo pack (Plumas County), Diamond pack (Plumas and Lassen counties), Harvey pack (Lassen County), Ice Cave pack (Shasta, Tehama, Lassen, and Plumas counties), Ishi pack (eastern Tehama County), Lassen Pack (southern Lassen/northern Plumas counties), Tunnison pack (central Lassen County), Whaleback Pack (Siskiyou County), and Yowlumni pack (Tulare County).
The Yowlumni wolf pack is of particular interest to ranchers, farmers and residents in the Tehachapi Mountains because it is the southernmost, located in Tulare County near the border of Kern County. Gray wolves are natural predators and effective hunters of deer, elk and livestock. Rocky Mountain elk were imported to the Tehachapi Mountains 60 years ago in an effort to create a game farm, which failed, but about 150 elk escaped. Today well over 300 elk are known to roam through the area, and their population has expanded north of Highway 58. The CDFW has set up tracking devices and cameras to monitor the population and migration of the gray wolf packs.
More information on status and tracking of the gray wolves:
Detailed information on gray wolves in California, including how to report sitings
And UC Berkeley has a research initiative, the California Wolf Project (CAWP), aimed at advancing the science and management of gray wolves in California:
Gray wolves recorded with a night camera, part of the southern-most Yowlumni pack.