Gray wolf appears in Los Angeles county for first time in more than 100 years

"A gray wolf wandered into Los Angeles county for the first time in more than a century on Saturday morning. This is the most southern verified record of a gray wolf in modern times, Axel Hunnicutt, gray wolf coordinator for the California department of fish and wildlife, said. The three-year-old black coat female, known as BEY03F, crossed into LA county around 6am on 7 February."

"Born in 2023 in Plumas county in the Beyem Seyo pack, she traversed nearly the entire range of the Sierra Nevada mountains, probably in search of a mate, said Hunnicutt. Wildlife officials have been able to track her location because BEY03F was fitted with a GPS collar in May 2025 while passing through Tulare county. To date, California fish and wildlife has not received any reports or sightings from the Los Angeles county public."

"The continental United States was historically home to thousands of gray wolves, but hunters and trappers extirpated the species, with the last wild wolf in California shot in 1924. In 1973, the population was protected by the Endangered Species Act and later reintroduced to Yellowstone national park in the 1990s. Those wolves eventually dispersed across the lower 48 states, with the first wolf crossing into California in 2011."

A gray wolf designated BEY03F, a three-year-old black female, entered Los Angeles County around 6am on 7 February. BEY03F was born in 2023 in Plumas County within the Beyem Seyo pack and traversed nearly the Sierra Nevada, likely searching for a mate. Wildlife officials have tracked her because she received a GPS collar in May 2025 while passing through Tulare County. The Los Angeles County sighting is the most southern verified modern record and the first in the county in over a century. Officials reported no public sightings in Los Angeles County to date. Interstates and vehicle strikes pose a significant mortality risk as she moves northward.

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