The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) now has photographic proof of family of wolves living in northern California.
They've been named the Shasta Pack and consist of two adults and five pups. The pups appear to be a few months old.
Trail cameras originally caught one wolf on camera in May and July so the CDFW added additional cameras which have now shown there to be not one but five wolves living together. "This is exciting news for California," CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonhman said. "We knew wolves would eventually return home to the state and it appears now is the time."
Wolves had not been seen living in the state of California since 1924, that is until the male wolf OR7 traveled down from Oregon in December of 2011 and now the Shasta Pack. Gray Wolves are protected under California's Endangered Species Act. The Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 also protects these wolves in California. These acts make it illegal to harm, harass, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or attempt to engage in any of these activities in California.
The CDFW is working on a Draft Wolf Management Plan. Meetings will be scheduled to receive public comments before the plan is finalized.
