A female gray wolf from Northern California’s Harvey pack has died after being captured by state wildlife officials during an effort to fit the animal with a GPS tracking collar, marking the second unintended wolf death linked to California Department of Fish and Wildlife actions in the past six months.
According to CDFW, the wolf died during a collaring operation conducted on Jan. 12 and Jan. 20 as part of ongoing efforts to monitor wolf movements across Lassen and Shasta counties. Five wolves were successfully collared during the operation. The Harvey pack wolf would have been the sixth. The agency says the cause of death is still under investigation, noting that capture operations always carry inherent risks for wildlife.
The loss has renewed scrutiny of California’s wolf management strategy at a sensitive moment for the species. The Harvey pack female was a breeding wolf, and her death occurred during the height of the breeding season. Wolf advocates warn that losing key animals could set back the fragile recovery of wolves, which only returned to California in 2011 after being absent for nearly a century.
Tensions surrounding wolf management have escalated since last year, when the Beyem Seyo pack in Sierra Valley became heavily habituated to preying on livestock, killing more than 90 animals in a matter of months. Despite more than $2 million spent on nonlethal deterrents, the state ultimately attempted to remove the pack. That effort resulted in the accidental shooting of a juvenile wolf and the loss of two others…