Gray Wolves Make a Strong Comeback in California as Population Reaches 12 Packs

The gray wolf population has grown in California, with more packs identified in a recent report.

The state is now home to 12 identified packs of gray wolves, primarily concentrated in Northern California, according to the March 2026 update by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

The quarterly updates provide the latest information on identified wolf packs, areas of wolf activity, dispersing wolves, and wolf-livestock conflicts.

CDFW continues to monitor the animals in confirmed areas of wolf activity in Plumas and Modoc counties, as well as in more areas of suspected wolf presence in Butte, Kern, Modoc, Plumas, and Shasta counties.

Between January and March 2026, officials conducted 47 livestock depredation investigations. Of these, 21 were confirmed wolf attacks.

Currently, there are nine confirmed wolf packs in California, with three additional newly identified packs:

• Ashpan pack: Active in eastern Shasta County
• Diamond pack: Plumas and Lassen counties
• Grizzly pack: Plumas County
• Harvey pack: Lassen County
• Ice Cave pack: Shasta, Tehama, Lassen, and Plumas counties
• Lassen pack: Southern Lassen or northern Plumas counties
• Tunnison pack: Central Lassen County
• Whaleback pack: Siskiyou County
• Yowlumni pack: Tulare County

New Wolf Packs

In addition to these packs, the latest update confirms that three more packs have been identified in California. These are:

• Interstate pack: Active in northern Modoc County. Two adult wolves were detected by biologists using camera traps, scat, and tracks in summer 2025. The pack was named ‘Interstate’ by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2024 due to its possible range overlapping in California. There are no active collars and no reported livestock depredations.
• Long Valley pack: Active in eastern Sierra, eastern Plumas, and southern Lassen counties. Three wolves were confirmed through genetic analysis during a livestock depredation investigation in Sierra County in September 2025. At least two wolves continued to be recorded into 2026. While no member of the pack has been collared, there have been no reports of livestock depredations.
• Whitehorse pack: Found in western Modoc and eastern Siskiyou counties. CDFW staff have detected two wolves since August 2025. Genetic analysis identified an unknown male and a female wolf from the 2023 Whaleback pack litter. No animal in this pack has been collared. There were no reported livestock depredations from this pack.

Currently, the total wolf population across California is approximately 90 animals, according to Action News Now.

Gray Wolves in California

Native to California, gray wolves were documented in the state from the early 1700s to the early 1900s. However, they were extirpated from the state, with the last known adult animal killed in 1924, according to the CDFW.

There were no wolves reported after that until a radio-collared wolf ventured into California from Oregon in December 2011, marking their return after decades of absence.

Since then, their numbers have been increasing, with the wolf population growing to at least 50 wolves by the end of 2024, according to the CDFW.

One of the most protected species in California, gray wolves are listed as endangered under both the federal Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act.

Earlier this year, a gray wolf was spotted in Los Angeles County, making the first confirmed appearance of the species in the county in almost 100 years. Officials confirmed the animal to be a female from the Yowlumni Pack.

In November 2025, wildlife officials euthanized four gray wolves from the Beyem Seyo pack after months of failed non-lethal efforts to prevent them from preying on livestock in Sierra Valley. The euthanized animals included a breeding pair, a female, and a male. The wolves resulted in 70 livestock losses from March 28 to September 10, 2025.