Wolves have been reintroducing themselves to California after a century of local extinction.
But a three-year-old female gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the Beyem Seyo pack—known to biologists as BEY03F has come into Southern California. Her original pack is now considered inactive.
She is native to Plumas County but has come as far south as Los Angeles County.
She is following in the footsteps of OR-7 a male who came down from Oregon in 2011. He wandered hundreds of mile south before dying after a car strike.
Plumas is a timber rich county in the north of the state. The largest town in the county is Quincy with about 1,500 people.
Earlier this year she made headlines because she reached northern Los Angeles County. . Not since the 1920s has a wolf made it to Southern California.
She reached the mountains above Santa Clarita. Her GPS collar then indicated a turn back toward the Sierra Nevada.
Food is a major concern for a solitary wolf. Deer and elk would normally be the prime food. Big animals may be harder to catch. A solitary wolf may move down the chain and eat beaver, rabbits and perhaps smaller mammals. She needs five to seven pounds of food daily.
Females are the determining factor in establishing a pack. If she finds a mate her pups will be the foundation of a new pack.
As of now she is roaming Mono county as her search continues. Her predecessor came all the way from Oregon only to be struck and killed crossing a rural road.