In the latest sign that gray wolves — one of the iconic species of the American West — are continuing to expand their presence back into California, state wildlife officials are reporting that a 2-year old male wolf from Oregon who first entered Northern California two months ago has made it all the way south to rural Fresno County.
The 500-mile journey, by a radio-collared wolf known as OR-93, is the farthest south any wolf has been confirmed in California in 99 years, since a wild gray wolf was killed in a steel trap in 1922 in eastern San Bernardino County.
About a dozen gray wolves now live in California, roaming through Lassen, Modoc, Siskiyou and Plumas counties and back and forth over the Oregon border after re-entering the state in 2011.
But the fact that OR-93 has traveled across 15 counties — from Modoc, through the Sierra Nevada and to the San Joaquin Valley — has stunned biologists, environmentalists and agricultural leaders.
“It’s a great ecological story,” said Jordan Traverso, deputy director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Much of the state is historic wolf habitat. Whatever the reason, whether it’s prolific breeding or protections or conservation projects that have preserved their habitat, they are coming back. We think that’s significant. It’s good when animals that belong here are here. We’re happy about that.”
Wolves roamed broadly across North America for thousands of years. Their numbers collapsed after they were hunted widely over concerns by ranchers and settlers in the 1800s that they can eat calves and sheep. Many Western states, including California, paid bounties to people who killed wolves in the 1800s. Some bounty programs in Washington and Oregon continued until the 1930s and 1940s.
In recent years, the animals have been making a comeback. More than 7,000 gray wolves are estimated to be living in Alaska, 3,700 in the Great Lakes region, about 1,675 in the Northern Rockies and 275 in the Pacific Northwest.
Wolves almost never attack people. There are only two documented cases, one in Canada and one in Alaska, of a wolf killing a person. They do roam in packs of about eight animals, eating deer, rabbits and other animals, including occasionally calves and sheep.
Based on information from a radio tracking collar, OR-93 was born in Oregon two years ago, south of Mount Hood. He came south, leaving the White River Pack, and entered Modoc County on the California-Oregon border on Jan. 30.
He began his marathon trip across the Golden State, heading south through Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Mono, Tuolomne, Mariposa, Merced, Madera and now Fresno counties.
“We think OR-93 is in search of a mate, but even if he doesn’t find one this year, we sure hope he sticks around,” said Amaroq Weiss, senior West Coast wolf advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group. “He adds genetic diversity to our tiny wolf population and a very Californian flair for outdoor adventure.”
Some ranchers in the far northern California counties have opposed wolves re-entering the stateand worried about predation on their livestock. Several of California’s wolves have turned up dead under suspicious circumstances in the far northern counties — cases that remain under investigation.
The last wolf known to live in California before 2011 was in 1924, when it was trapped and killed in Lassen County. In the past decade, about 30 or so livestock have been confirmed killed in California by wolves, Traverso said.
Although high-profile, such attacks are far from the leading cause of death for cattle and sheep. Far more livestock die from disease, complications during birth, dehydration, even attacks from other animals, including coyotes and domestic dogs, according to federal statistics.
Details of exactly where OR-93 is now aren’t known. The wolf’s collar issues a tracking signal only once every 12 hours, to preserve battery life.
State biologists received a signal from central Fresno County on Sunday night, Traverso said. Without providing the exact location to protect the wolf, she said, it was located in a rural agricultural area, more toward the valley than in the rugged country leading to the Sierra Nevada.
“It’s flatter than the foothills,” she said. “It’s not urban or suburban. It’s very remote. It doesn’t look like Yosemite National Park. He is exploring new territory.”
Of concern to biologists, she said, the animal has crossed Highway 99 at least once.
State wildlife officials alerted local leaders in Fresno County when they got the tracking collar signal. They remind the public that gray wolves are have legal protections under California’s Endangered Species Act. Killing or injuring one can bring steep fines or jail time.
Farmers and ranchers in Fresno are as stunned as anybody else that a lone wolf could walk 500 miles, said Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.
“I don’t think it’s worrying most of our folks at the moment,” he said. “We are concerned about what the future may be, but a single male roaming this area is not a concern. We will be following this issue carefully. It was a surprise to see him come down this far. It’s nothing short of amazing.”
