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Wolf Pack Found in California for First Time in Almost 100 Years
This Aug. 9, 2015 still image from video released by the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife shows evidence of five gray wolf pups and two adults in Northern California.(California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife / AP)
After almost a century-long absence from California, a group of seven wolves – two adults and five 4-month-old pups – have been spotted in a forested area in Northern California, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced.
Named the Shasta Pack for their proximity to Mt. Shasta, the wolves are black in color, Karen Kovacs, the agency’s wildlife program manager for Northern California, told the San Jose Mercury News. The pups—who were spotted Aug. 9 along with the adults—weigh between 35 and 40 pounds.
The state’s last known wolf was killed in 1924.
The Mercury News reports:
All but eradicated from the lower 48 states of America by the early 20th century, wolves have staged a major comeback over the past 20 years after U.S. wildlife officials re-established the animals in Wyoming and Idaho. The predators made their way to Oregon by 1999 and have now made their home in the northern reaches of California.
“This is an Endangered Species Act success story in the making,” said Pamela Flick of Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation nonprofit.
The return of the wolf is more than a symbolic achievement, environmentalists say. The pack hunters make ecosystems healthier by killing sick or weak animals and keeping the populations of deer and other prey in check.
Posted by Jenna Berbeo
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Source: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/wolf_pack_found_in_california_for_first_time_in_almost_100_years_20150821/
