Fish & Wildlife Lethally Removes Sierra Valley Problem Wolves

In a news release dated October 24, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that the Department, in coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), has “lethally removed” four gray wolves of the Beyem Sato Pack in Sierra Valley following an “unprecedented” number of livestock attacks on area ranches.

The removed wolves included a breeding pair, one other adult male, and one other adult female, as well as a juvenile male killed unintentionally as a result of mistaken identity. Those wolves were responsible for 70 livestock kills between March 28 and September 10, accounting for 63% of all livestock losses statewide during that period, according to CDFW. Additional wolf kills have been reported since that time.

CDFW Director Charlton Bonham said that the decision to remove the wolves “was not made lightly nor was it easy,” but “the situation with this pack is far outside any comparable experience across the state or the West.” Bonham explained that the Beyem Seyo Pack had become “reliant on cattle at an unprecedented level, and we could not break the cycle,” referring to efforts by the CDFW’s Summer Strike Team to control wolves by non-lethal methods.

An important concern about the kind of livestock attacks that have occurred in Sierra Valley is that young wolves learn to feed on cattle, rather than their natural prey, and then leave to form their own packs, where they replicate the behavior and pass it on to their offspring. CDFW said that operations are underway to capture the remaining juvenile wolves and relocate them to wildlife facilities.