California just killed 4 endangered gray wolves. Here's why.

"This marks the first time that the state has lethally removed a gray wolf since the species returned to California in 2011. For months prior, wildlife experts from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies had collaborated with local partners to try to prevent the attacks on ranching properties. "This decision was not made lightly nor was it easy," Charlton Bonham, the director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement on Friday. "Despite extensive non-lethal efforts, including hazing and adaptive tools used by our summer strike team, these wolves continued to prey on livestock. The situation with this pack is far outside any comparable experience across the state or the West, making the long-term recovery of gray wolves much harder.""

"The state agency, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, targeted wolves in the Beyem Seyo pack, which had started depending on livestock as a primary food source. "The Beyem Seyo pack became so reliant on cattle at an unprecedented level, and we could not break the cycle, which ultimately is not good for the long-term recovery of wolves or for people," Bonham explained. Due to this operation, California lost a breeding pair and a female from the wolf pack. Wildlife managers accidentally killed the fourth wolf, a juvenile that looked like the male from the pair."

California wildlife officials killed four endangered gray wolves after repeated attacks on cattle across Sierra Valley north of Lake Tahoe. The lethal action is the first state removal of a gray wolf since the species returned in 2011. State and federal agencies and local partners attempted months of nonlethal measures, including hazing and an adaptive summer strike team, but a Beyem Seyo pack continued to prey on livestock. The pack had become dependent on cattle, jeopardizing long-term recovery and human safety. The operation eliminated a breeding pair, a female, and an accidentally killed juvenile, while efforts continue to capture and relocate remaining juveniles.

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