Of all of our beloved fauna, one of our favorites is making a much needed comeback in 2024. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) has reported that 5 out of the 7 gray wolf families in the state have reproduced this year, bringing a total of 30 pups into the wild! This is the greatest increase in California wolves in the past 100 years. Overall in California, we now have 65 wolves.
Our beloved wolves were non-existent in California for decades after the last gray wolf was shot back in 1924, until OR-7 (aka Journey) crossed the Oregon border into California in 2011. Over the past seven years, more than 70 pups have been born in California, in addition to the 30 pups born this year. It is exciting to see that statewide numbers of wolves have steadily increased, even as their continued survival is controversial in California.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered and protected under the California Endangered Species Act (and federal Endangered Species Act). Because of this, wolves cannot be harmed by ranchers in the Golden State – unless the wolf has gone after a human. Some California ranchers feel as though their hands are tied and that young calves are vulnerable to being preyed on by wolves. OR-103 is linked to being the cause of 10 injured calves over the past few years, although an injury may be the reason that he is going after more livestock and fewer wild animals; with a limp it is harder to hunt as quickly is needed to catch deer or elk. It is suspected that ranchers could be taking matters into their own hands and shooting the wolves, as an entire pack (the Shasta Pack) vanished in Siskiyou County after they were spotted feeding on a calf back in 2018.
CDFW monitors our beloved wolf packs in California, as well as their livestock interactions. Check out their gray wolf webpage for quarterly updates on wolf shenanigans.