{"id":23647,"date":"2025-07-23T11:38:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/?p=23647"},"modified":"2025-07-23T11:38:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:38:56","slug":"mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most surprising aspects of the recovery of the gray wolf in the United States is the return of the species to California. Wolves had been eliminated from the state in the 1920s and were not expected to return any soon time, if at all. But in 2011, a single wolf made the arduous journey from northeastern Oregon to northeastern California, remarkably tracked by wildlife officials (see the map posted below). Other wolves followed, and before long several breeding packs had been established. California\u2019s Department of Fish and Wildlife recently announced<\/a> that in 2024 \u201ca minimum of 30 pups born across five or six packs and that\u2019s the largest annual litter count we\u2019ve had thus far in the state.\u201d Although most California wolves are found in the state\u2019s northeastern reaches, in 2023 a new pack was confirmed<\/a> in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountain Range some 200 miles to the south.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Return of Gray Wolves to California map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>
Gray Wolf Distribution in California 2024 map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

The first map in this post also shows potential wolf habitat the United States (excluding Alaska), as well as the approximate range of wolves at roughly the time when California was reinhabited. Although it is not surprising that many areas marked as habitat are still without wolves, it is perplexing that wolves are depicted as living in areas outside their supposed habitat zone. Determining what constitutes \u201cwolf habitat\u201d is a difficult task, but I still do not think that the cartographer has done a good job on this map. The small dots of \u201chabitat\u201d scattered across Nevada, Utah, and Idaho are especially suspicious, as these areas are too small to support viable packs. I suspect that a much larger portion of the U.S. is potential wolf habitat, at least to the extent that people would allow wolves to repopulate it.<\/p>\n

Even mapping the historic range of the grey wolf in the United States is a difficult and contentious issue. As can be seen in the figure posted below, different maps show very different distribution patterns. Most uncertain is the historical range of the gray wolves in the eastern United States. Much of the uncertainty here stems from the presence of a closely related but smaller species, the red wolf. But it is not even clear<\/a> whether this critically endangered animal is a separate species or merely a gray-wolf subspecies. Red wolves have, moreover, hybridized extensively with coyotes in recent decades, adding to the general taxonomic and distributional confusion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Historic Range of the Gray Wolf in North America maps<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Historic Range of the Red Wolf<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Another striking aspect of the historic distribution of the gray wolf depicted on these maps is the absence of the animal from central and western California (except the German-language map produced by the World Wildlife Fund). The reported lack of wolves here is curious, as California’s vast Central Valley and surrounding foothills had roughly 500,000 tule elk<\/a> circa 1800, which could have supported a large wolf population. It seems most likely that the conventional mapping of the historic distribution of the gray wolf in California is simply incorrect. At any rate, the chatbots that I consulted all agreed that grey wolves were historically found across most the state. Grok, for example, informed me that:<\/p>\n

\n

GROK: Yes, wolves historically lived in the western areas of California. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were once widespread across the state, including the western regions, such as the Sierra Nevada, coastal ranges, and Central Valley. Historical records, including accounts from early European settlers and Native American tribes, indicate their presence throughout California before the 20th century. However, due to habitat loss, hunting, and extermination campaigns, wolves were largely eradicated from California by the 1920s.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The best potential wolf habitat in California is probably located in the larger and more remote parts of the state that currently support elk (wapiti, or Cervus canadensis; <\/em>see the map posted below, which probably exaggerates the current range.) But although elk are now widely distributed in California, their numbers remain small. According to current estimates, California has some 12,700 elk, whereas Idaho has around 120,000 and Montana up to 175,000.<\/a> Due in part to the paucity of elk and other potential prey species larger than the black-tailed deer, California\u2019s wolves have been extensively preying on domestic livestock. As can be seen in the \u201cdepredation report\u201d posted below, such kills are occurring roughly every other day. It is thus hardly surprising that California ranchers are worried about the state\u2019s expanding wolf packs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Elk (Wapiti; Cervus canadiensis) Range in California map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Wolf Depredation Report California May 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

The map entitled \u201cU.S. Gray Wolf Distribution and Habitat\u201d that is posted above depicts the central Sierra Nevada as one of the state\u2019s largest areas of wolf habitat. This extensive and heavily forested area does not, however, have any elk. Its thick seasonal snowpack would be a challenge for both elk and wolves, requiring extensive areas of winter habitat in the more densely populated western foothills, presenting another challenge. I doubt that it is coincidental that California\u2019s existing wolf packs are concentrated in the drier and more sparsely populated lands found to the east of the northern Sierra and southern Cascades, which I have illustrated on the final map posted below.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Gray Wolf Range in California and Precipitation map<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most surprising aspects of the recovery of the gray wolf in the United States is the return of the species to California. Wolves had been eliminated from the state in the 1920s and were not expected to return any soon time, if at all. But in 2011, a single wolf made the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4549,1825,1173],"tags":[4713],"class_list":["post-23647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article-grid","category-environmental-geography","category-north-america","tag-wildlife-distribution"],"geo":null,"yoast_head":"\nMapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California - GeoCurrents<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California - GeoCurrents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the most surprising aspects of the recovery of the gray wolf in the United States is the return of the species to California. Wolves had been eliminated from the state in the 1920s and were not expected to return any soon time, if at all. But in 2011, a single wolf made the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GeoCurrents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-23T19:38:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1312\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Martin W. Lewis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Martin W. Lewis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Martin W. Lewis\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/person\/b3483a6410df29942d1e850fae4a2606\"},\"headline\":\"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-23T19:38:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\"},\"wordCount\":939,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Wildlife Distribution\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Article-Grid\",\"Environmental Geography\",\"North America\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\",\"name\":\"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California - GeoCurrents\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-23T19:38:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1312,\"caption\":\"Screenshot\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/\",\"name\":\"GeoCurrents\",\"description\":\"Map Illustrated Analyses of Current Events and Geographical Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GeoCurrents\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cropped-Blue-Globe-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cropped-Blue-Globe-Logo.png\",\"width\":459,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"GeoCurrents\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/person\/b3483a6410df29942d1e850fae4a2606\",\"name\":\"Martin W. Lewis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86c9985bbc7b8dacb697973779443ef9b6a67efd2ea7f878572f263f2e917c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86c9985bbc7b8dacb697973779443ef9b6a67efd2ea7f878572f263f2e917c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Martin W. Lewis\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/GeoCurrents.info\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/author\/martin-lewis\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California - GeoCurrents","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California - GeoCurrents","og_description":"One of the most surprising aspects of the recovery of the gray wolf in the United States is the return of the species to California. Wolves had been eliminated from the state in the 1920s and were not expected to return any soon time, if at all. But in 2011, a single wolf made the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/","og_site_name":"GeoCurrents","article_published_time":"2025-07-23T19:38:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1312,"url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Martin W. Lewis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Martin W. Lewis","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/"},"author":{"name":"Martin W. Lewis","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/person\/b3483a6410df29942d1e850fae4a2606"},"headline":"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California","datePublished":"2025-07-23T19:38:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/"},"wordCount":939,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Wildlife Distribution"],"articleSection":["Article-Grid","Environmental Geography","North America"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/","url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/","name":"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California - GeoCurrents","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-23T19:38:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1312,"caption":"Screenshot"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/2025\/07\/23\/mapping-the-return-of-the-gray-wolf-to-california\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mapping the Return of the Gray Wolf to California"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/","name":"GeoCurrents","description":"Map Illustrated Analyses of Current Events and Geographical Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#organization","name":"GeoCurrents","url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cropped-Blue-Globe-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/cropped-Blue-Globe-Logo.png","width":459,"height":82,"caption":"GeoCurrents"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/person\/b3483a6410df29942d1e850fae4a2606","name":"Martin W. Lewis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86c9985bbc7b8dacb697973779443ef9b6a67efd2ea7f878572f263f2e917c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a86c9985bbc7b8dacb697973779443ef9b6a67efd2ea7f878572f263f2e917c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Martin W. Lewis"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/GeoCurrents.info"],"url":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/author\/martin-lewis\/"}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg",2560,1312,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-210x210.jpg",210,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-300x154.jpg",300,154,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-768x394.jpg",768,394,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-1024x525.jpg",1024,525,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-1536x787.jpg",1536,787,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-2048x1050.jpg",2048,1050,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg",300,154,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg",400,205,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg",600,308,false],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-1320x677.jpg",1320,677,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Martin W. Lewis","author_link":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/author\/martin-lewis\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"One of the most surprising aspects of the recovery of the gray wolf in the United States is the return of the species to California. Wolves had been eliminated from the state in the 1920s and were not expected to return any soon time, if at all. But in 2011, a single wolf made the…","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-210x210.jpg",210,210,true],"full":["https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Gray-Wolf-Distribution-in-California-2024-map-scaled.jpg",2560,1312,false]},"categories_names":{"4549":{"name":"Article-Grid","link":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/category\/article-grid\/"},"1825":{"name":"Environmental Geography","link":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/category\/environmental-geography\/"},"1173":{"name":"North America","link":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/category\/place\/north-america\/"}},"tags_names":{"4713":{"name":"Wildlife Distribution","link":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/blog\/tag\/wildlife-distribution\/"}},"comments_number":"0","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23655,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23647\/revisions\/23655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geocurrents.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}