May 18, 2026, 6:18 p.m. ET
A gray wolf has been detected in Sequoia National Park for the first time in over 100 years, wildlife groups say.
California Wolf Watch said the collared female, known as BEY03F, has traveled hundreds of miles across the state in recent months, reaching Los Angeles County earlier this year and Inyo County in April.
“She is officially the first known wolf in (Inyo County) since wolves were extirpated from California in 1924,” California Wolf Watch editor John Marchwick wrote April 6.
Her latest movement into Sequoia National Park marks the first publicly known wolf sighting there in more than a century, Marchwick wrote, noting that he confirmed the news by looking at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online wolf tracker.
Susan Dewar, ecologist and president of the nonprofit California Wolf Foundation, said in a May 18 email to USA TODAY that there is a delay between when wolves enter geographical areas and when they are logged. The record-setting gray wolf’s satellite signature entered the park on Sunday, May 17, Dewar said.
“The map … shows that she is still in the national park today,” wrote Dewar. “She is likely exploring new territory and/or seeking a mate.”
The adult, female wolf is listed on the map as Yowlumni Disperser, named after the pack whose territory she traveled to once she left her natal pack.
Wolves targeted in government-funded programs
Gray wolves were wiped out in California in the 1920s, largely due to government-backed eradication programs, according to wildlife advocates and state officials.
The species began returning on its own in 2011, migrating from other western states, and is now listed as a protected, endangered species under both state and federal law, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
“This disappearance was not due to natural causes, but rather to widespread, systematic persecution driven by human activity,” Dewar of the California Wolf Foundation said, pointing to historic hunting, trapping and poisoning efforts.
Those campaigns were fueled in part by concerns over livestock losses and longstanding perceptions of wolves as threats, Dewar said, adding that habitat loss and fragmentation also contributed to their decline.
Concerns resurface in some communities
More recently, some Northern California communities have raised concerns about increased wolf activity. In May 2025, officials in several counties — including Shasta, Lassen and Modoc counties — approved local emergency resolutions, citing reports of what they described as “bold” behavior, including livestock killings near homes.
Marchwick said the wolf now drawing attention, BEY03F, was not linked to those incidents.
More on the wolf making headlines
While BEY03F is classified as a gray wolf, photos show her coat appears blackish-gray. She was born in 2023 as part of the Beyem Seyo Pack in Northern California, according to California Wolf Watch.
In 2025, she traveled roughly 370 miles south of her natal pack in Plumas County, one of several long-distance movements that have drawn attention from researchers and advocates. State wildlife officials captured and collared her in May 2025 within the Yowlumni Pack’s territory.
Earlier this year, she briefly reached Los Angeles County before turning back north through Kern and Tulare counties, tracking data shows.
Dewar said wolves like BEY03F are considered “pioneering individuals” as the species slowly reestablishes itself in California.
“The recent reappearance of wolves in California … represents a relatively new chapter in their slow, natural return from populations that have recovered in other western states,” she said, adding that their movement highlights both the species’ resilience and the need for continued conservation efforts.
Those interested in following wolf activity in California can track movements through the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online wolf tracker.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s trending team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her atsdmartin@usatoday.com.