The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced a new wolf pack in Tulare County, making it the state’s fourth and southernmost pack.
CDFW officials received a reported wolf sighting in the Sequoia National Forest and went to investigate. At the site, they found wolf tracks and other signs of wolf presence and collected 12 scat and hair samples from the immediate area for genetic testing.
According to CDFW, the new pack consists of at least five individuals not previously detected in California and consists of an adult female—a descendant of OR7—and two females and two males.
In late 2011, OR7 crossed the state line to become the first wolf in nearly a century to make California part of his range before returning to Oregon to form the Rogue Pack.
None of the samples came from an adult male, but genetic information from the four pups suggests the breeding male is a descendant of the Lassen Pack.
