Pup boom for endangered gray wolves breaks California records

California had a boom of gray wolf pups this year. 

In 2026, the state’s gray wolves had at least 42 babies, a record since the species began returning to California in 2011. Yet to be seen, though, is how many of the youngsters born this spring will ultimately survive. 

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Axel Hunnicutt, the gray wolf coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, nonetheless considers the numbers a promising sign of recovery for the endangered species.

“From a purely conservation point of view, this is 100% a sign of success,” Hunnicutt told SFGATE. “Reproduction is the powerhouse that drives recolonization, recovery and dispersal of endangered species.”

The uptick in numbers follows 32 pups in 2025, 35 in 2024 and far fewer over the years since 2011, according to Hunnicutt. The total number of wolf packs that yielded babies also broke records this year at eight packs: Lassen, Whaleback, Harvey, Ice Cave, Ashpan, Grizzly, Whitehorse and Long Valley. 

Although the numbers mark good news for the species, which is listed as endangered both in California and federally, rebounding wolves have a significant cost for ranchers. In a recent study, UC Davis researchers recorded that the Lassen and Harvey packs in northeastern California were mostly eating cattle. 

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“Larger packs that are breeding means more mouths to feed, and almost all of these areas where we have wolf packs overlap to some degree with livestock production,” Hunnicutt said. He added: “It means that the state, CDFW, local communities, nonprofits — we all need to work together even harder as a community to support conflict mitigation and support the rural communities that are the stewards of these wolf families.”

Among renewed efforts to reduce rising conflicts, Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed the California Wildlife Coexistence Act into law. Senate Bill 1135 codifies a compensation program for ranchers and sets aside funds for nonlethal deterrents for wolves among other initiatives.