‘It’s tough sleeping at night’: ranchers seek to protect herds as wolves move in
As wolves arrive in California for the first time since the 1920s, ranchers try non-lethal methods to deter animals once seen as livestock-killing vermin
Breanna Owens had no idea where to turn for help when the wolves arrived. The northern California-based rancher used to take her cattle to graze each summer in Oregon, but in 2014, OR-7, a solitary wolf dubbed Journey, found a mate and produced a litter of pups in the vicinity of Owens’ herd. The Rogue Pack was the first in the area in generations.
“All of a sudden it’s, ‘Oh, he set up camp. And there’s a female. And there’s pups – oh my gosh!’” she recalled.