The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported in its latest wolf management update the presence of four new wolf packs in the state.
The new packs are unnamed, resulting from wolves known in California or dispersed from packs in Oregon.
The unnamed Plumas County pack consists of at least two adults and two pups who may have dispersed from the existing Beckwourth Pack. A suspected depredation occurred in the area of the pack, but the carcasses were too old for determination.
The second pack from Lassen County consists of at least two adults, with the female from a 2021 litter of the Whaleback Pack and an unknown number of pups. Preliminary genetic analyses show the male is not from any known California packs or Oregon’s Rogue Pack.
The third pack was documented on a trail camera in March, consisting of three wolves in Tehama County, and CDFW officials continue to survey the pack.
The southernmost and the most recently pack identified is in Tulare County. According to CDFW, the new pack consists of at least five individuals not previously detected in California. It consists of an adult female—a descendant of OR7—and two females and two males.
