Meet the Shasta Pack, California's first resident wolves since 1924 | Photo: CDFW
Good news for those of us who've been crossing their fingers that the wolf sighted in Northern California earlier this year might stick around: it looks like he or she has a family.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed that a group of at least two adult gray wolves and five pups seems to be inhabiting the northernmost reaches of the state. The group, which CDFW has dubbed the Shasta Pack, was photographed by trail cameras deployed by CDFW in an attempt to learn more about the wolf sighted earlier this year.
"This news is exciting for California," said Charlton H. Bonham, CDFW Director. "We knew wolves would eventually return home to the state and it appears now is the time."
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed that a group of at least two adult gray wolves and five pups seems to be inhabiting the northernmost reaches of the state. The group, which CDFW has dubbed the Shasta Pack, was photographed by trail cameras deployed by CDFW in an attempt to learn more about the wolf sighted earlier this year.
"This news is exciting for California," said Charlton H. Bonham, CDFW Director. "We knew wolves would eventually return home to the state and it appears now is the time."
The last known gray wolf indigenous to
California -- up until these pups were born sometime this spring -- was
shot by a hunter in 1924. The gray wolf OR-7, who made global headlines
when he traipsed across the state line from Oregon in 2011, hasn't been
in California for more than a year. He's stayed put in southwestern
Oregon with his mate and two litters of offspring, his family known
collectively (and colorfully) as the Rogue Pack.
It was OR-7's two visits to California that sparked a move by CDFW to list the gray wolf on the state's Endangered Species List, which the California Fish and Game Commission made final in June 2014. The Shasta Pack is also protected as an Endangered Species under the Federal Endangered Species Act, though Obama administration moves to delist the wolf nationwide provided extra motivation for those who sought state listing for gray wolves.
Wolves in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana no longer enjoy federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, and the same is true for wolves ranging in parts of Utah, Oregon and Washington.
CDFW is being tight-lipped about the Shasta Pack's location, though a
post on the agency's blog confirms the pack was photographed in the
vicinity of this year's earlier sightings, which took place in Siskiyou
County. The secrecy is likely intended to help prevent ideologically
driven wolf opponents and illegal trophy hunters from harassing or
injuring the Shasta Pack, though it will also serve to keep wolf
admirers from swarming the area and squeeing the animals to death as
well.
Siskiyou County is well placed to serve as a jumping off point for wolves migrating farther south in California: the county's forests are connected to likely wolf habitat along the North Coast as well as in the Northern Sierra Nevada.
Wildlife advocates reacted to the news with jubilation. "Fourteen years ago, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors was considering legislation that would have been detrimental to wolves," said Amaroq Weiss, wolf campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity. "I testified against that legislation, and said 'whether you pass this law or not, the wolves are coming back.'"
"Fourteen years later, California has its first wolf family in almost a century," said Weiss. "This is a great day for wolf conservation. A great day."
Citing a recent possible sighting of a wolf in South Dakota's Black Hills, the Center on Wednesday urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct public education programs to remind hunters and others of the differences between gray wolves and coyotes. A number of gray wolves have been shot and killed by hunters claiming they thought the animals were coyotes, which are not protected. Coyotes are smaller, lighter, and "pointier" than wolves.
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It was OR-7's two visits to California that sparked a move by CDFW to list the gray wolf on the state's Endangered Species List, which the California Fish and Game Commission made final in June 2014. The Shasta Pack is also protected as an Endangered Species under the Federal Endangered Species Act, though Obama administration moves to delist the wolf nationwide provided extra motivation for those who sought state listing for gray wolves.
Wolves in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana no longer enjoy federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, and the same is true for wolves ranging in parts of Utah, Oregon and Washington.
Adult member of the Shasta Pack. | Photo: CDFW
Siskiyou County is well placed to serve as a jumping off point for wolves migrating farther south in California: the county's forests are connected to likely wolf habitat along the North Coast as well as in the Northern Sierra Nevada.
Wildlife advocates reacted to the news with jubilation. "Fourteen years ago, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors was considering legislation that would have been detrimental to wolves," said Amaroq Weiss, wolf campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity. "I testified against that legislation, and said 'whether you pass this law or not, the wolves are coming back.'"
"Fourteen years later, California has its first wolf family in almost a century," said Weiss. "This is a great day for wolf conservation. A great day."
Citing a recent possible sighting of a wolf in South Dakota's Black Hills, the Center on Wednesday urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct public education programs to remind hunters and others of the differences between gray wolves and coyotes. A number of gray wolves have been shot and killed by hunters claiming they thought the animals were coyotes, which are not protected. Coyotes are smaller, lighter, and "pointier" than wolves.
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