BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A furry bombshell has entered the villa — and she’s looking for a mate. But we’re not talking hit reality show “Love Island.”
The 3-year-old gray wolf, aka BEY03F, has been drawing statewide attention as she’s traveled 370 miles from her home in Plumas County.
On Sunday, she made her way to sunny Los Angeles County but now she’s checking out her options in the Golden Empire.
First gray wolf to enter L.A. County in century has Plumas County origins
“I’m a little surprised that it’s a female, because usually I always learned that it’s the young males that are leaving the pack and the females stay,” Dr. Antje Lauer, CSU Bakersfield biology professor said. “But for whatever reason, she has left and is probably not finding a mate.”
According to the California Fish and Wildlife Department, the wolf was last tracked near the mountainous area east of the Grapevine, but her journey for love has made some history.
The wolf’s arrival in LA county marks the first time in 100 years that a wolf has wandered in the county. With just about 50 wolves in the state, BEY03F’s dating pool is rather small.
“The wolf is endangered. So the biologists would like to see more wolves coming back,” Lauer said. “I would be surprised if that wolf would find a mate here. So she might be just moving around and then ultimately leaving again.”
The dwindling wolf populations are due to a number of factors. Hunting of elk and deer has been detrimental to the main food sources of the wolves. But often times, farmers kill these endangered animals to protect livestock from being their next meal.
Lauer says the wolves don’t pose a huge threat to farm animals.
“I think by having this female young and alone, I don’t think it’s a threat to anything. She would probably not be a threat to anybody’s livestock, but if there is a pack, the depleted nature of prey, then this can be a problem.”
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No wolves live in Kern County and haven’t for decades. A majority of wolves walk through the Golden Empire — and for this lone lady wolf — she’s just looking for that special someone.
“I wish her all the best, all the best of luck finding a mate and then establishing a new pack somewhere. Somewhere safe,” Lauer says.
Gray wolves usually mate until April.
Californians will be watching to see if BEY03F finds her lifelong mate or if she’s leaving the villa empty handed.
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