Gray Wolf (OR-10)
Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

• FAQ
• Living with Wolves
• Information on gray wolf in California (PDF)
• Wolf Photos
• OR-7 – A Lone Wolf's Story
• California Wolf Coordination Plan (PDF)

Reports

• Evaluation of Petition to List Gray Wolf as Endangered Species under CESA (PDF)
• Gray Wolves in California (PDF)
  An evaluation of historical information, current conditions, potential natural recolonization and management implications (DFG 12/2011)

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

At this time, there is only one documented gray wolf living in the wild in California.

On Dec. 28, 2011 a 2 ½-year-old, male gray wolf entered California after traveling from northeast Oregon. Designated OR7, his behavior, called dispersal, is not atypical of a wolf his age.

Historically, wolves inhabited California, but were extirpated. Before OR7, the last confirmed wolf in California was here in 1924 and since then, investigated “sightings” have turned out to be coyotes, dogs, wolf-dog hybrids, etc. CDFW wildlife managers anticipated that wolves would eventually enter California, and have been preparing for it.

• The State of California is not intentionally reintroducing wolves.
• Gray wolves pose little direct risk to humans.
• Any wolf that enters California is protected as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.

CDFW provides these maps to show the route that Wolf OR 7 has traveled since his entry into California. The maps will be updated periodically as additional data becomes available. However, there will be an intentional delay in posting new map information to protect the current location of this wolf. This wolf's movement pattern, in terms of timing, direction and distance has so far been unpredictable. Therefore the maps will provide useful information on where he has been recently, but not where he is now.

Map of OR7's path in California (PDF)
This map contains data through April 23, 2013
On March 12/13, 2013, Wolf OR7 returned to Oregon then made a brief return to California on April 20, 2013. Again, OR7 returned to Oregon on April 23, 2013. We will not post updates while he is in Oregon. Wolves in Oregon are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Oregon does not post daily location information on wolves. For more information, please visit www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/

Updates on Gray Wolf OR7