Wild wolves are making a major comeback in California.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed on Tuesday that three new wolf packs have developed in the state: the Ishi pack in eastern Tehama County, the Tunnison pack in central Lassen County and the Ashpan pack in eastern Shasta County.
This brings the total number of known wolf packs in California to 10.
Amaroq Weiss, a senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, is celebrating the news.
“How wonderful to witness another year of continued growth in California’s recovering wolf population,” Weiss said in a news release. “It’s inspiring to watch this renaissance, and we should do everything we can to ensure California’s wolves have every chance to thrive.”
Confirmation of the new packs is the latest step forward in the decades-long effort to reestablish wolves across the western United States.
The gray wolf, native to California, was eradicated by the mid-1920s. Their return began with OR-7, a wolf from Oregon who entered California in late 2011.
The first packs were confirmed in Washington and Oregon in 2008, followed by California in 2015. By the end of 2024, wildlife officials counted 75 individual wolf pack territories across the three states.
In addition to the three new packs, California is home to the Whaleback pack in Siskiyou County, the Lassen pack, the Diamond pack, the Beyem Seyo pack, the Ice Cave pack, the Harvey pack and the Yowlumni pack, according to the CDFW. The department also noted two smaller groups of two to three wolves in northern California that do not yet qualify as packs.
While many people are celebrating the return of wolves to California as a success, there are significant concerns, primarily among ranchers and rural communities, in areas where wolves are re-establishing themselves.
“The wolves are displaying behavior that is atypical,” wrote Lassen County Sheriff John McGarva in a recent letter to CDFW, saying the animals are increasingly encroaching on residential areas and seem to be unfazed by typical deterrents. He said wolves had reportedly killed six calves in the Big Valley area in March.
Wolves are currently protected under both the California and federal Endangered Species Acts, underscoring the ongoing commitment to their recovery.