Wolves Roam California Again, Reviving Old Fears and New Conflicts in Ranch Country
From KQED.org:
For decades, gray wolves were thought to have been hunted and poisoned into extinction in California, with the last sighting of the animal in the 1920s.But that changed in late 2011, when a wolf wearing a radio collar crossed into the state from Oregon.
In the years since, California’s gray wolf population has grown into the dozens, with most roaming the far northern part of the state. State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say wolfpack activity has been reported in Shasta, Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties. But in some of those areas, like Modoc County, the wolf’s reappearance is fueling a backlash — especially among cattle ranchers, who see the apex predator as a growing menace.
