California Wolves

California is currently home to ten known gray wolf packs and between 50-70 wolves.

In 1924, California’s last known gray wolf was trapped and killed in Lassen County. California had no known gray wolves for nearly a century until OR7 traveled into the state during parts of each year from 2011-2014. OR7 was born into the Imnaha Pack in northeastern Oregon. After traveling across the state and then spending time in California, he established the Rogue Pack in Southern Oregon, for which he was the breeding male until his death in spring 2020. 

Due to his arrival in California in late 2011, in early 2012, conservation groups petitioned the state to list gray wolves for protection under the California Endangered Species Act. Their efforts were successful. At this time, wolves are protected statewide in California under both the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).

Definition of a wolf pack, area of wolf activity, and successful breeding pair in California

In California, a pack is defined as two or more wolves detected in a specific area within six months, or with recorded evidence of breeding. That is, when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) either (a) detects multiple wolves and evidence of reproduction or (b) detects two or more wolves four or more times within a geographically congruent area within a 6-month period. In either case, the group of wolves will be named a pack, and the area they are occupying will be defined as their pack territory. 

An Area of Wolf Activity is defined as two or more wolves detected at one or more locations outside of a known pack area without one of the criteria to be deemed a pack.  

A successful breeding pair is defined as a mated male and female wolf pair that have produced pups, at least two of which have survived through December 31st of the year in which they were born.

Protected Status

In California, gray wolves are protected under both the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This means it is illegal to intentionally kill wolves in the state, except in defense of human life.

The end of 2024 marked a new milestone for California’s wolves, because five of the confirmed seven packs met CDFW’s definition of a “successful breeding pair,” meaning two adults and two or more pups surviving until the end of the year. Because CDFW has documented at least four successful breeding pairs for two consecutive years, this has moved California’s wolves into “Phase 2” of wolf management, as specified by the state’s 2016 Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California.

The Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California (December 2016: Part I; Part II) was developed during a multi-year process led by CDFW with input from its California Wolf Stakeholder Working Group. The Wolf Plan is an adaptive management plan, with management strategies and actions changing over time, through a three-phased approach, as California’s wolf population grows in number and expands in range.

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