Current Wolf Packs (in order of establishment)
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 satellitecollar 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 2023 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 a detected, along with WHA20M and WHA22M (both from the 2024 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).
Legal status and violation reporting
Gray wolves in California are protected by both state and federal law, and CDFW takes any threats to the
recovering wolf population seriously. Killing a wolf is a potential crime and subject to serious penalties
including fines and imprisonment.
To report any information regarding a fish and wildlife violation, you may contact CDFW using one of
several methods, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Call CalTIP at 1-888-334-2258 (toll free).
• Text “CALTIP” followed by a space, and the message, to 847411 (tip411).
• Download the CalTIP smartphone app (free)
The post Discover California’ss Wolf Packs: A Guide to Their History and Status appeared first on SierraDailyNews.com.
