The Return of the Wolf

As many as 2 million gray wolves once roamed across North America. But they started to disappear in the 1800s. That is when settlers were moving west. People built ranches and farms where wolves lived. They hunted, trapped, and even poisoned wolves. They did it to keep wolves from killing farm animals. The last known wolf in California was killed in 1924. By the 1960s, wolves were nearly extinct in the contiguous United States.

Without those top predators, other living things in the wolves’ ecosystems were affected, scientists say. For example, in some Western states, wolves used to prey on elk. Without wolves, elk became overpopulated. Those elk ate too many trees and grasses. That caused problems for birds, beavers, and other animals. They relied on those trees and grasses to survive.

In the 1960s, and again in 1974, U.S. officials listed the gray wolf as an endangered species. That status makes it illegal to hunt or capture the wolves in most of the country.

Since then, wildlife officials have been working to bring the animals back to the U.S. In the mid-1990s, gray wolves returned to parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Those wolves had pups and formed new packs. So the population grew and began wandering into other states.

Today the wolf population in California is small—but growing. There were an estimated 44 gray wolves in the state in 2023, with 30 pups born last year, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

The wolves’ return is important because it affects the populations of other animals and plants in the food web. Scientists are also monitoring wolves’ effect on other predators, like mountain lions and coyotes, which they may compete with for food. As wolves expand in the state, “we’re going to see a rebalancing” of the ecosystem, says Axel Hunnicutt. He is the CDFW’s gray wolf coordinator.

But as California’s population has grown, the forests full of deer and other prey that the wolves’ ancestors once hunted have shrunk. Gray wolves today have fewer wild creatures to prey on. That puts cattle in danger, says Roberti, the rancher. “If they don’t have food, they’re going to eat livestock,” he says. “That’s just the way it is.”

Adding to the challenge, there is a limit to what ranchers can do to protect their livestock. It’s illegal to shoot wolves in California. Some ranchers try to keep wolves away by putting up fencing with red flags, called fladry. The flapping of the flags in the wind scares the animals off. Other ranchers use dogs or hire riders on horseback to monitor cattle.

But those strategies don’t work for everyone. Some ranchers have thousands of acres of land that need protection. 

Today the wolf population in California is small. But it is growing. There were an estimated 44 gray wolves in the state in 2023. Last year, 30 pups were born. That is according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

The wolves’ return is important. It affects the populations of other animals and plants in the food web. Scientists are also monitoring the effect of wolves on other predators, like mountain lions and coyotes. Wolves may compete with them for food. As wolves expand in the state, “we’re going to see a rebalancing” of the ecosystem, says Axel Hunnicutt. He is the CDFW’s gray wolf coordinator.

But as California’s population has grown, the forests have shrunk. That means fewer areas full of deer and other prey that the wolves’ ancestors hunted. Gray wolves today have fewer wild creatures to prey on. That puts cattle in danger, says Roberti, the rancher. “If they don’t have food, they’re going to eat livestock,” he says. “That’s just the way it is.”

Also, there is not much ranchers can do to protect their livestock. It is illegal to shoot wolves in California. Some ranchers try to keep wolves away by putting up fencing with red flags. That is called fladry. The flags flap in the wind. That scares the animals off. Other ranchers use guard dogs or hire riders on horseback to monitor cattle.

But those strategies do not work for everyone. Some ranchers have thousands of acres of land that need protection.

Conservationists are focused on finding ways to help. For example, state wildlife officials have been putting GPS collars on wolves. That way they can track the animals and alert ranchers if one is nearby. Also, if a wolf does kill a rancher’s animal, the state repays the rancher for the loss. But some ranchers say the money does not keep their livestock from being harmed. And it does not address the problem of wolves not having enough other animals to prey on.

Wildlife officials are also looking for longer-term solutions. The state has partnered with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Together they formed an initiative called the California Wolf Project. The team is studying wolves’ diet. It also is setting up cameras to gather data on their pack sizes, habitats, and prey. The researchers hope the findings will help the state manage the return of wolves.

Matthew Hyde is a researcher on the project. “It is exciting to have wolves back in California,” he says. “Their population is going to quickly expand, so we need a lot of on-the-ground efforts to understand where new packs might form and settle.”