Lone Gray Wolf Reaches Los Angeles County in Historic Southern Penetration

A significant milestone in California's wildlife recovery efforts occurred in February 2026 when a lone gray wolf crossed into the boundaries of Los Angeles County. Officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirmed this event marks the farthest south a gray wolf has been documented in the state's modern history. The three-year-old female, identified via GPS collar as BEY03F, completed an extensive migration spanning over 370 miles from her natal pack located in Plumas County.

The wolf's journey aligns with the typical gray wolf dispersal season, a period when young animals seek new territories and potential mates, behavior that reflects the species' ongoing, yet delicate, return to the region. BEY03F was born in 2023 and was fitted with a satellite tracking collar in May 2025 while temporarily associated with the Yowlumni pack in Tulare County. Her current trajectory places her in an area where no established wolf packs are currently known, although Axel Hunnicutt, the CDFW's gray wolf coordinator, has noted the possibility of a male wolf inhabiting the nearby Tehachapi Mountains.

This incursion into Southern California is notable, as the last documented wild wolf in the immediate Los Angeles area was recorded in 1924, highlighting the species' eradication from the region by hunters and trappers approximately a century ago. The natural return of wolves to California began in late 2011 with the entry of the male wolf OR-7 from Oregon, following the species' local extinction in 1924. By the close of 2024, the state hosted an estimated minimum population of around 50 wolves across approximately ten confirmed packs, a growth attributed by advocates to protections under the California Endangered Species Act.

The CDFW closely monitors these animals due to the substantial risks posed by human infrastructure, with vehicle strikes cited as the leading cause of mortality for wolves in California. This danger was exemplified by the death of OR-93, which was killed by a vehicle along Interstate 5 in Kern County in 2021. This dispersal event also occurs amid complex management challenges, such as the CDFW's decision in October 2025 to euthanize four members of the Beyem Seyo pack in Sierra Valley following repeated depredation on local cattle, which accounted for 70 livestock losses between March 28 and September 10, 2025.

Monitoring collared animals like BEY03F, who was collared in May 2025, is crucial for both conservation efforts and mitigating conflicts with livestock producers, as the CDFW uses the tracker data to provide location updates. John Marchwick, a writer for the nonprofit California Wolf Watch, characterized the sighting of BEY03F in Los Angeles County as a significant moment for the state's wolf comeback. The next phase of BEY03F's movement remains uncertain; she may establish a territory in the San Gabriel or Tehachapi Mountains if she finds a mate, or she could continue traversing the Sierra Nevada range.