Smithsonian Magazine
The Wolf that Discovered California
The Wolf that Discovered California
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From California Department of Fish and Wildlife Lassen Pack The Lassen pack uses a broad area of western Lassen and northern Plumas counties. The Lassen Pack produced litters in 2017 (four pups), 2018 (five pups), 2019 (five pups), 2020 (a double litter of nine pups), 2021 (five pups), 2022 (five pups), 2023 (four pups), and 2024 (five pups). In the 2020 double litter, the original breeding female (LAS01F – unknown origin) had five pups and a two-year old female (LAS09F) had four pups. LAS01F has not been detected since fall 2020, and LAS09F has been the sole breeding female of the Lassen pack since 2021. DNA analysis indicated LAS02M, the original breeding male, was a 2014 offspring of southwestern Oregon’s Rogue pack. While he sired the 2017-2019 litters, he has not been detected with the pack since spring of 2019. A new adult male (LAS16M) began traveling with the pack as early as June 2019. DNA analysis has shown LAS16M has sired the pack’s litters since 2020 and work to determine his origin is ongoing. In late summer 2020, a satellite-collared yearling male wolf (LAS13M) dispersed from the pack. After traveling through Lassen and Modoc counties, LAS13M entered Oregon in October 2020. In 2021, the Dixie Fire burned significant portions of the pack’s summer range including pup-rearing areas. The breeding wolves and the five known 2021 pups survived the fire. Whaleback Pack The Whaleback Pack uses broad areas of central and eastern Siskiyou County and consists of OR85 (male), WHA01F (female), and their offspring. OR85 was born in 2019 and initially collared by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in February 2020. He dispersed from the Mount Emily pack near La Grande, Oregon and entered California in November 2020. DNA analysis determined that WHA01F is one of OR7’s offspring from the Rogue pack. In 2021, the pair produced seven pups. In 2022, the pack produced eight pups, in 2023 the pack produced 8 pups, and in 2024 the pack produced at least six pups. In March 2023, OR85 was recollared and WHA12M (from the 2022 litter) was collared. In January 2025, WHA01F (the breeding female) and WHA29F (from the 2024 litter) were both collared. Beyem Seyo The Beyem Seyo pack was confirmed in Plumas County in May 2023 after CDFW received multiple public reports of wolf tracks. The pack’s breeding male is LAS19M (from the Lassen Pack 2020 litter #1) and the breeding female is LAS23F (from the Lassen pack 2020 litter #2). These breeding wolves are half siblings: both were sired by the same male (LAS16M) but had different mothers (LAS01F and LAS09F). The Beyem Seyo Pack had six pups in 2023 and five pups in 2024. The breeding male LAS19M has not been detected since summer 2024. In fall 2024, LAS23F’s satellite collar indicated she had shifted south and began using areas throughout eastern Sierra County. LAS23F was recollared in January 2025, along with BEY01F, BEY09M, and BEY10M. WHA08M was also found to be with the pack and was also collared. Harvey Pack The Harvey pack was confirmed in Lassen County in the summer of 2023 after CDFW received reports and photos from local livestock producers and USFS staff. The pack’s home range is primarily in western Lassen County, though it also extends into eastern Shasta County. In summer 2023, the pack included WHA05F (the breeding female), HAR01M (the breeding male), and two pups. WHA05F was born into the Whaleback pack in 2021. The origin of HAR01M is currently unknown. At the end of 2023, only one of the two pups was still alive. In 2024, the Harvey pack had a litter of eight pups. In January 2025, WHA05F was recollared and HAR04F, HAR05F, HAR07M, and HAR11M (all from the 2024 litter) were all collared. Yowlumni Pack The Yowlumni pack was confirmed in Tulare County in July 2023 after CDFW received sightings and images from both the public and environmental consultants working in the area. The pack consists of breeding male LAS24M (from the Lassen pack’s 2020 double litter) and breeding female YOW01F (a direct descendant of OR7). The breeding pair had six pups in 2023 and seven pups in 2024. The pack utilizes a home range in Tulare County, with notable presence on the lands of the Tule River Tribe. Diamond Pack The Diamond pack was confirmed in Plumas County in the Fall of 2024 after CDFW received images of a pair of wolves from camera traps owned by a member of the public and UC Davis in December 2023 and January 2024, respectively. The pack is known to use portions of eastern Plumas and southern Lassen counties near the Nevada border. Subsequent monitoring of the area in the spring and summer of 2024 led to further detections and the pair meeting the criteria of a pack by persistence in the third quarter of that year. Genetic analysis indicates one of the wolves is LAS28F, a female born into the Lassen pack in 2021. Monitoring efforts to understand the identity and home range of the Diamond pack are ongoing. Ice Cave Pack In 2023, individual wolves were detected at several camera traps near Lassen Volcanic National Park (LVNP). The pack was confirmed in Fall 2024 after USFS cameras detected two adults and two pups south of LVNP. The origin of these wolves is currently unknown. Detections to date suggest that the group could be utilizing an area near the intersection of Tehama, Plumas, Lassen, and Shasta counties. Monitoring efforts to understand the composition and home range of this new pack are ongoing. Other wolf groups – Areas of Wolf Activity Active (Currently Reported) Central Lassen County - Two wolves were documented in Fall 2024 north of Susanville. The wolves were identified through genetic analysis to be LAS32F and DIS04M (a male wolf from Oregon who is a sibling of OR103). Several depredations have been attributed to these two wolves, confirmed initially through genetics, which is also what led to their discovery. LAS32F was collared in 2023 in the Lassen pack, but her collar failed in January 2024. Continued detections of this group will qualify them as a pack by the end of the first quarter of 2025. South-Central Modoc County – At least three wolves have been detected in portions of Modoc County as a result of multiple livestock depredations. At a wolf-livestock depredation investigation in December 2024, WHA31M (from the 2024 litter), WHA28F, and WHA32M (both from the 2024 litter) were identified to be present through genetic analysis. At another wolf-livestock depredation investigation in February 2025, WHA31M was again detected, along with WHA20M and WHA22M (both from the 2023 litter) through genetic analysis. It is not known if these wolves are moving between this area and the Whaleback pack area, but the area continues to be monitored. Southern Plumas County – Following the range shift of the Beyem Seyo pack in October 2024, CDFW continued to receive public sighting reports of multiple wolves within the historical Beyem Seyo pack area in southern Plumas County. Following the recollaring of LAS23F and all four animals with her in January 2025, at least two additional wolves were detected in the historical Beyem Seyo pack area. It is not known whether these are members of the Beyem Seyo pack or unrelated wolves. Eastern Shasta County - Sign of at least one wolf was originally reported by snowmobile groomers in March 2024. Genetic analysis of urine in the snow confirmed the presence of WHA07M, who was earlier detected and reported in an AWA in southern Modoc County. In April 2024, genetic analysis of a scat in the same area confirmed the presence of WHA04F. CDFW has continued to monitor this area and has confirmed at least two wolves present through Winter 2024/2025. Continued detections of this group will qualify them as a pack by the end of the first quarter of 2025. Eastern Tehama County - A group of three wolves were documented by trail cameras in December 2024, as a result of recent public sightings and efforts to monitor this area since 2023. It is unknown if one of the three wolves is offspring of the other two, and thus the group has been reported as an AWA. Continued detections of this group will qualify them as a pack by the end of the first quarter of 2025. These detections followed the 2024 Park Fire, and subsequent salvage logging efforts in this area have made monitoring efforts difficult. It is unknown if these wolves are the same as those previously detected in eastern Tehama County in 2023 and early 2024. Not Active (Previously Reported) Eastern Tehama County (2024) – A trail camera operated by a member of the public documented a group of three wolves in March 2023 and then two wolves in April 2023. In February of 2024, two wolves were again detected in the area. After zero detections through Summer 2024, and then the occurrence of the Park Fire in this area, this AWA was no longer thought to be inhabited by wolves. Modoc County – The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has documented two wolves near the California state line, just north of Modoc County. At the beginning of 2024, ODFW named the pair the Interstate Wolves after additional sightings were recorded. This area is monitored by both CDFW and ODFW, however at the end of 2024 there was no evidence of wolves in this area. South-Central Modoc County (2024) - Two wolves were documented by the public and USDA Wildlife Services at a livestock carcass in southern Modoc County in February 2024. Genetic testing determined these wolves were a female from the 2022 Whaleback pack litter (WHA09F) and a male from the 2021 Whaleback pack litter (WHA07M). Both wolves were also genetically determined to be near Chester in Plumas County in late January 2024 (83 miles south of where they were detected in Modoc County). With no other detections in this area and with WHA07M being detected in the eastern Shasta County AWA as of October 2024, this AWA was no longer thought to be inhabited by wolves. Past Wolf Packs Shasta Pack The Shasta pack was California’s first known contemporary pack and occupied a portion of eastern Siskiyou County. DNA indicated that both breeding wolves were from Oregon’s Imnaha pack (the pack that produced OR7). The pair was first detected in early 2015 and five pups were identified that summer. The pack was regularly detected from August through November 2015 and consisted of a minimum of six wolves in late November 2015. The Shasta Pack was not detected after November 2015, except for one yearling identified within the pack’s range in May 2016. DNA analysis of a scat determined the same animal was in northwestern Nevada in November 2016. Beckwourth Pack The Beckwourth pack was confirmed in May 2021 when three wolves were photographed by a trail camera at a wolf depredation site in southern Plumas County. Tracks of two wolves had been observed in the same general area in February 2021. DNA analysis from a scat indicated one of the three was female wolf LAS12F from the Lassen pack 2019 litter. The origins of the other two wolves were unknown. There have been intermittent detections of wolves throughout the Beckwourth pack area since their initial discovery. The last confirmed detection in the Beckwourth pack area was in late fall of 2023. The fate of the Beckwourth pack from 2021 is unknown. It is possible that more recent detections were either unrelated dispersing animals moving through the area or more recently, potential extraterritorial movements from the neighboring Beyem Seyo pack. As of Fall 2024, the satellite-collared Beyem Seyo breeding female was shown to have been utilizing areas that historically were thought to be the Beckwourth pack’s home range, and the Beckwourth pack is no longer considered active. Antelope Pack The Antelope pack was confirmed in late 2023 after two wolves were detected by camera traps multiple times between March and October. The pack is thought to have primarily occupied Sierra County but also portions of northern Nevada County. In the summer of 2024, wolf WHA08M (Whaleback male 2021 litter), was genetically detected on CDFW’s Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area at a wolf-livestock depredation investigation and is thought to have been one of the two Antelope pack wolves. During the January 2025 collaring efforts for the Beyem Seyo pack, WHA08M was found traveling with LAS23F. Their collar data shows that they continue using areas previously occupied by the Antelope pack. Because of this, the Antelope pack is no longer considered active. Past individual collared wolves OR158 OR158, a male wolf who was collared in Baker County, Oregon while traveling alone, briefly entered California in December 2024. OR158 spent only a week in Modoc County, before returning north to Oregon. OR103 OR103, a wolf born in 2019 or 2020, entered northeastern Siskiyou County on May 4, 2021. Except for a brief foray into northern Trinity County in early March 2022, he remained in Siskiyou County until early July 2022, when he returned to Oregon. OR103 was collared by ODFW in Deschutes County, Oregon. OR103 was illegally killed near Upper Klamath Lake, OR in October 2022 and his pack origin remains unknown. In late 2024, a male wolf was identified through genetic analysis in Lassen County along with LAS32F. This male’s genetic profile suggests that he is a sibling (subsequent litter) of OR103. OR93 OR93, a male wolf born in 2019, initially entered Modoc County on January 30, 2021. OR93 dispersed from the White River pack in northern Oregon where he was collared in June 2020. After briefly returning to Oregon, OR93 reentered Modoc County on February 4, 2021. He then passed through portions of Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, and Calaveras counties, before entering Alpine County on February 24. On February 25, he entered Mono County, and by mid-March 2021, OR93 was in western Tuolumne County. By late March he was in Fresno County and then entered San Benito County after crossing Highway 99 and Interstate 5. He was in Monterey County on April 1 and his last collar transmission was from San Luis Obispo County on April 5. OR93 was found dead on November 10, 2021, near the town of Lebec in Kern County. Evidence indicated he died from a vehicle strike. When his collar stopped transmitting April 5, he had traveled at least 935 air miles in California, a minimum average of 16 air miles per day. OR54 OR54 was a female offspring of southwestern Oregon's Rogue pack and was most likely born in 2016. She was the fourth Rogue pack wolf known to have spent time in California. She was fitted with a satellite collar by ODFW in October 2017, and she initially dispersed into California in January 2018. She subsequently spent most of her time in California but made two trips back to Oregon. She traveled widely in northeastern California, through portions of Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Yuba counties. In September 2019, OR54 crossed to the south side of Interstate 80 and briefly entered Nevada before returning to California and again crossing the Interstate. She covered more than 8,710 miles after leaving the Rogue pack. OR54 was found dead in Shasta County in February 2020. The cause of her mortality remains under investigation. OR59 OR59 was a male wolf from northeastern Oregon. He was fitted with a satellite collar by ODFW in February 2018 and crossed the state line into Modoc County in December 2018. CDFW staff found OR59 shot in December 2018. His mortality remains under investigation. OR44 OR44 was a male offspring from northeastern Oregon’s Chesnimnus pack. He was fitted with a satellite collar by ODFW in December 2016 and dispersed from his pack in fall 2017. OR44 crossed the state line into eastern Siskiyou County in March 2018. His collar failed in May 2018, and his last known location was in Siskiyou County. OR25 OR25 was a male offspring of northeastern Oregon’s Imnaha pack. He was fitted with a satellite collar by ODFW in 2014. OR25 made four trips to California during late 2015 and early 2016, traveling through portions of Modoc, Lassen, Shasta, and Siskiyou counties. OR25 was found dead near Fort Klamath, Oregon in October 2017. OR7 OR7 was born in 2009 in northeastern Oregon’s Imnaha pack. He was fitted with a satellite collar by ODFW in February 2011. He dispersed from his pack in September 2011 and crossed the state line into eastern Siskiyou County in December 2011. He spent much of 2012 and early 2013 in California traveling through Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Tehama counties. OR7 returned to Oregon in April 2013, found a mate, and formed the Rogue pack. Five of OR7’s offspring have been detected in California: LAS02M (the original breeding male of the Lassen Pack), DIS01F (a female detected by DNA from scat in eastern Siskiyou County in 2017), OR54, WHA01F (the breeding female of the Whaleback pack), and YOW01F (the breeding female of the Yowlumni pack). In late 2019 ODFW reported that OR7 was no longer with the Rogue pack. His fate is unknown. Other individual uncollared wolves detected Since 2017, uncollared dispersing wolves have periodically been detected in northern California via trail cameras, DNA, handheld cameras, and visual observation by CDFW. Most of these detections have occurred in Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, and Siskiyou counties. DNA has been collected from some uncollared dispersers including DIS01F (a female from the Rogue pack in Siskiyou County in January 2017), DIS02M (a male from northeastern Oregon’s Meacham pack in Lassen County in October 2017), DIS03M (a male related to northeastern Oregon’s former Walla Walla pack detected in Modoc County in May 2020), and DIS04M (a male related to OR103, who was detected in October 2024 in Lassen County). |
Photo by Randy Robbins
OR54 Video
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