Following a rambunctious breeding season, California’s wolf population has rapidly expanded in the past year. At least 30 new pups have been born in the state this year, bringing the total number of known gray wolves in California to around 65.

As of 2024, there are seven known wolf families in California found across six counties, including Siskiyou, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, and Tulare counties. 

Of the seven big families, at least five had new members this season, according to a new quarterly report by the California Department of Fish and Game.

There are now a total of 11 wolves in the Lassen pack, 13 for Whaleback, 10 for Beyem Seyo, 10 for Harvey, two for Antelope, and 15 for Yowlumni. The remaining pack, Beckwourth, has not been sighted this year, although the pack consisted of two wolves in the previous quarter.

In addition to the large packs, at least four lone wolves or individuals belonging to small groups were spotted in Tehama and Plumas counties.

“Seeing wolves return to the places this magnificent species once called home and have these adorable new pups is as inspiring as it gets,” Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.

“At least five California packs have now created families. That’s a testament to the visionary power and strong enforcement of the federal and state endangered species acts."

California’s wolves were completely wiped out in the early 1900s following a government-back eradication program. By 1924, they were considered to be extirpated (or locally extinct) in the state.

The situation remained that way for almost a century until a radio-collared wolf born in northeast Oregon ventured over 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) through his home state and entered California in 2011.

Known as OR-7, nicknamed Journey, the wolf traveled backward and forward across the states, eventually finding a mate in Oregon’s Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and bearing offspring. Several years passed and a pack established themselves south of the border in California. Even more packs followed suit.

Journey is presumed to have passed away in 2020 at the ripe old age of 11 years old (which is very old for a wild wolf). Nevertheless, his dynasty is still going strong: his daughter is a founding member of the Yowlumni pack in Tulare County.

The latest news about California’s wolf pups is promising, but conservationists argue that there’s a long way to go before the state’s population is safe and secure.

“I’m overjoyed that California now has an estimated 65 wolves in the state. It’s a great start, but we’ve got more work to do. California wolves need to keep their strong state and federal protections if they’re going to fully recover and thrive here,” said Weiss.