Lone She-Wolf Hits L.A. County After 370-Mile Mate Hunt

For the first time in at least a century, a wild gray wolf is roaming Los Angeles County, and she walked there on her own four feet. A GPS-collared female, known to biologists as BEY03F and estimated to be about 3 years old, showed up in the mountains north of Santa Clarita on Saturday morning. The animal, a lone dispersing wolf, was tracked slipping into the San Gabriel foothills after leaving packs farther north. Biologists say she is still on the move and appears to be looking for a mate, which is classic behavior for a young wolf striking out on her own.

The wolf is wearing a satellite GPS collar and, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf tracker map, her last known coordinates put her north of Santa Clarita, allowing staff to confirm the sighting. CDFW says the collar was fitted last May while she was with the Yowlumni pack in Tulare County, and agency fieldworkers are continuing to monitor her long-distance trek. The department’s online tracker is also designed to help livestock producers and wildlife managers anticipate movements and head off potential conflicts before they start.

A Century Later, Wolves Are Back

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, BEY03F was born in 2023 in Plumas County’s Beyem Seyo pack and has traveled more than 370 miles to reach Southern California. On the way south she crossed State Route 59 near Tehachapi, a risky move in a state where the leading known cause of wolf deaths is vehicle strikes. Wolves were wiped out in California by hunters and trappers in the early 20th century and only began to return in 2011, so one roaming L.A. County’s backcountry is a milestone that would have sounded like pure fantasy a couple of decades ago. Axel Hunnicutt, CDFW’s gray wolf coordinator, told the Times that “her journey isn’t over” and emphasized that highways remain one of the biggest threats she faces.

What Officials And Residents Should Know

State wildlife officials say the wolf is under close watch and are urging residents and livestock owners to stay alert and report any sightings so biologists can respond and walk people through mitigation options. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife notes that gray wolves are protected under both state and federal endangered-species laws and recommends nonlethal deterrents, secure fencing, and stepped-up nighttime checks to reduce the chance of conflicts. For now, experts stress that wolves typically steer clear of people, and that the department’s mapping tools exist to help managers lower the risks for everyone involved, from ranchers to hikers to the lone she-wolf testing the limits of California’s wild edges.