6 gray wolf attacks on cattle confirmed over 16 days at Plumas County ranch
PLUMAS COUNTY — There have been six confirmed gray wolf attacks on cattle over the last two and a half weeks near the Plumas-Sierra county line, authorities said Wednesday.
The latest attack involved two gray wolves attacking a calf in broad daylight at DS Ranches along Highway 49 in Plumas County, just north of Loyalton, Wednesday morning, the Sierra County Sheriff's Office said. The calf's injuries resulted in the animal needing to be euthanized.
It's the latest in a series of attacks over the last 16 days that has prompted the sheriff's office — though the attacks did not happen in its jurisdiction — to issue a warning that gray wolves in the region are seemingly becoming "increasingly comfortable around humans and human activity" due to a lack of effective deterrence.
"These wolf attacks are not happening in the backcountry wilderness; they are happening where people live, work, and raise livestock," the sheriff's office said.
Law enforcement officials said the six attacks have happened since DS Ranches moved into the valley at the end of March. Two of its calves have been killed, and others injured, in those attacks.
"The question we must ask is: When is enough enough? [The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's] current management of these apex predators is not working," the sheriff's office said.
