Wolves in California were exterminated in the 1920’s. But wolves have crept in from other states and have formed packs. They have thrived and the current population is said to number 65, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. In fact, the California wolf population is on a strong upward trend.
Wolves, of course, are one of the most controversial of animals whose future is in need of protection. Wolf re-introduction is a hot button issue throughout the American West. Wolves had been driven from abundance to near extinction by 1950. Remnant populations in the Great Lakes region, and the southwest and southeast were all that was left. However, public opinion changed starting in the 1960’s. Wolf re-introduction in Yellowstone National Park began the recovery. Wolf expansion and re-introduction has been happening in the western United States.
The California wolf population now appears to have a stable and growing population. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW):
“In California, gray wolves are classified as federally endangered under the US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Act, state endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the State Wildlife Action Plan. Gray wolves began natural recolonization of California beginning in 2011; the first pack was the Shasta Pack in 2015 (no longer active).”
” Today there are seven confirmed packs in northern California: Antelope pack (Sierra and Nevada counties), Beckwourth pack (Plumas and Sierra counties), Beyem Seyo pack (Plumas County), Harvey pack (Lassen and Shasta counties), Lassen Pack (southern Lassen/northern Plumas counties), Whaleback Pack (Siskiyou County), and Yowlumni pack (Tulare County). There may be an unknown number of individual wolves that have dispersed from packs or adjacent states.”
” The department strives to conserve gray wolf populations for their ecological and intrinsic values and closely monitors our overall wolf population / packs for conservation and research, management and conflict mitigation.”
Phys.Org said
“Conservation organizations emphasized the number of new pups as a huge win for the rebounding species.
The Center for Biological Diversity called it “inspiring”—especially because the wolves made their way back into California and established packs on their own, rather than being reintroduced by wildlife agencies, the organization said in a news release.
It happened in late 2011 when a radio-collared wolf known as OR-7 ventured away from his pack in northeast Oregon and landed in California, the organization said. OR-7’s daughter went on to become a “founding member” of the Yowlumni pack, the state’s southernmost pack in Tulare County.
That pack produced seven of the 30 pups this year, according to Fish and Wildlife’s report.”
But wolves can and do eat livestock and other domestic animals and the battle over wolf populations continues in the United States and abroad. France, for example, estimates wolves kill 15,000 head of livestock annually. Numbers here appear to be lower.
Colorado has been a recent flash point. Wolves were reintroduced there last year. Packs began forming and disperse. But the predators have begun eating livestock and the stat’s strong anti-wolf sentiment remains. Wolves were reintroduced after a ballot measure passed. Pro-wolf voters tended to be urban dwellers or otherwise unattached to livestock based livelihoods. Those residents are staunchly anti-wolf.
Wolf predation can be hard to prove for livestock owners. They often leave little behind. Repayment to owners can be cumbersome and slow.
Predation hits smaller interests harder. But losses can be severe. Two wolves in Idaho panicked a flock of sheep. Almost 150 sheep died during the stampede. As the California wolf population increases it will be important to watch the reaction of livestock interests. Wolf poisoners have struck in Oregon, for example.