Are there any wolves in California? ?

Question

Confirm your sources, please.

Answer 1

Not in the wild, but there are a couple rescues/sanctuaries.

http://www.californiawolfcenter.org/miss...

Wolves in California?



In discussing the history of wolves in the southwestern United States, Brown (The Wolf in the Southwest: The Making of an Endangered Species, Tuscon, University of Arizona Press, 1983) reported that despite an abundance of what appear to be suitable habitats; virtually no wolves have been seen in California. Schmidt (1987, 1991), however, came to a different conclusion based on his review of historical records. He found clear records from 1750 to 1850 indicating that wolves were present in the Coastal Range from San Diego to Sacramento when these areas were first being explored and settled. From 1850-1900, wolves were seen in Shasta County and in the central Sierra Nevada.

By the middle of the 1920's wolves seem to have disappeared from California. One was trapped in San Bernardino County in 1922. Another, the last to be captured in the state, was trapped in Lassen County in 1924. Although the US Forest Service estimated that some 50 wolves existed in the Lassen, Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Angeles, and Rouge River National Forests as recently as 1937, there was little evidence that any wolves were actually present. Schmidt concluded that all of the wolves trapped in recent years have been ones released from captivity.

In 1984, Schmidt noted that there were two important reasons for trying to determine the past distribution of wolves in California. First, the possibility of reintroducing wolves into the state has frequently been discussed, and information about their historical range could be useful in this debate. A feasibility study for the restoration of the wolf to the Klamath-Siskiyou region of north-central California is being funded by Defenders of Wildlife and conducted by the Conservation Biology Institute. Second, extirpation of the wolf may have had an important impact on the ecosystems from which they were eliminated, which might help to explain the current distribution of species such as elk, deer, and coyotes. Reintroduction of wolves might be expected to move those populations towards their historic levels.

Today, there is another reason for interest in the wolf's former range. Wolves from nearby Idaho have recently been seen in Oregon, suggesting a natural dispersal route that could extend into California, Nevada, and neighboring states. The current wolf reclassification plan proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would remove protection from wolves that enter California, and exclude the state from federal wolf recovery efforts.



With the help of concerned citizens, we are hoping to bring the wolf back to the wild in several states across the country.

http://www.californiawolfcenter.org/inde...

http://www.wolfmountain.com/index.htm

Answer 2

Not in the wild.  Some may have escaped captivity.

Answer 3

There's actually a wolf preserve in California... the California Wolf Center.  

http://www.californiawolfcenter.org/wolf...

But I know that's not what you meant.  This next site (which is apparently hosted by teachers from Visalia, CA) actually states :There are no wolves in California".  (under the title "Habitat".

http://www2.visalia.k12.ca.us/teachers/d...

I'm not sure if I really believe that.  Having lived my whole life in Cali, I've seen plenty of coyotes, fox, and even bears in.  It's hard for me to believe there's not a few wolves out there still.

This next site has an article from the San Fransisco Chronicle claiming there are "Gray Wolves heading to California"  (is it supposed to be grey or gray?). The article was dated Feb 5, 2002 and said "...sometime soon, perhaps within the next couple of years..."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...

So... there used to be wolves in California.  

I believe there's still some out there...

And, according to the SF Chronicle, some may have come back by now.