whaleback

Griffin, who investigates suspected wolf kills in the region for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, acknowledged that the 80 or so kills attributed to the Whaleback pack is an undercount.

But that money ran out in a hurry, state records show, with the majority of it, 67%, going to ranchers whose wolves were killed by the Whaleback pack.

The bigger problem, Griffin said, is that the Whaleback pack is teaching its young to hunt cows.

Another five were captured from the Harvey pack in Lassen County, including one that had been previously collared, and two were captured from the Whaleback pack in Siskiyou County.

The fewer than two dozen wolves currently believed to be living in Northern California include the Lassen pack, whose territory covers portions of Lassen and Plumas counties; the Beckworth pack in eastern Plumas County, and the Whaleback pack in eastern Siskiyou County.