California euthanizes 4 gray wolves as ranchers bemoan surge in cattle kills

California wildlife officials euthanized four gray wolves that were responsible for 70 livestock deaths in less than six months.

The wolves’ return to California represents an ecological triumph, but their cattle predation threatens ranching communities.

Conservationists were thrilled when the gray wolf returned to California after the apex predators were hunted to near extinction a century ago.

But it turns out the Golden State’s regrowing wolf packs are not merely content to feed on their traditional prey of elk and deer. Some also have a voracious appetite for cattle.

In response to an “unprecedented” surge in cattle kills across the Sierra Valley — which has been widely bemoaned by the region’s ranchers — officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recently euth