There’s a Wolf in the Mendocino National Forest for the First Time in a Century – Active NorCal

A lone gray wolf is roaming the Mendocino National Forest, marking one of the species’ furthest confirmed pushes into new territory since the predators began trickling back into the state.
Mendocino County officials shared the news at the September 1 Board of Supervisors meeting, where Supervisor Madeline Cline told the board that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife had confirmed the sighting within the county. Cline reminded the board that gray wolves carry endangered status under both state and federal law, which makes killing one illegal anywhere in California.
That doesn’t leave ranchers entirely without options. Under CDFW guidance, non-injurious hazing is permitted when a wolf comes within a quarter mile of livestock or 100 yards of a home. Agricultural Commissioner Angela Godwin said her office is exploring a bi-county wolf task force to get ahead of potential livestock predation.
The Mendocino sighting adds a new chapter to one of California’s most remarkable wildlife comebacks. Wolves were wiped out of the state by the 1920s and stayed gone for nearly a century until a famous wanderer named OR-7 crossed over from Oregon in 2011. The Shasta Pack became California’s first modern pack in 2015, and as of July, CDFW counted a minimum of 50 wolves across 11 confirmed packs.
The department stresses that wolves returned entirely on their own, dispersing naturally from populations in other states with no reintroduction program involved. As habitat generalists, they can make a living almost anywhere, which explains how a lone disperser ends up hundreds of miles from the established packs of the northeast corner.
Apparently, that includes the Mendocino.

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