The California Department of Fish and Wildlife published a report detailing wolves’ status in the state last month.
Presently, the Lassen Pack is the only known wolf pack in the state and several collared individual wolves have been detected. The Lassen Pack consists of five wolves in western Lassen and northernmost Plumas counties. In late summer 2020, a satellite-collared yearling male wolf (LAS13M) dispersed from the pack, entered Oregon in early October, and remained there through early January 2021.
Individual wolves in the state include the male wolf OR-85, who entered eastern Siskiyou County on Nov. 6 and was last spotted on a trail camera traveling with another wolf of unknown gender in the county. Three uncollared wolves from OR-7’s offspring—the original breeding male of the Lassen Pack—have been detected in California.
Since 2017, uncollared dispersing wolves have periodically been detected in Northern California via trail cameras, DNA, handheld cameras and visual observation by the department. Most of these detections have occurred in Modoc, Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties.
