A pack of grey wolves has been spotted in a popular California national park for the first time in a century.
The pack – consisting of one adult male, an adult female, and two cubs – was spotted on a wildlife camera roaming the southern border of Lassen Volcanic National Park, according to state wildlife officials.
The grey wolf was believed to have been hunted out of Lassen Volcanic National Park in the 1920s, but the small group was spotted back there recently.
“CDFW has confirmed the presence of a new wolf pack near Lassen Volcanic National Park in recent weeks,” said Axel Hunnicutt, a Gray wolf coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“These detections come from camera trap photos of wolves and their pups on U.S. Forest Service land around the park, and also from CDFW’s wolf biologists tracking and monitoring in the area.
“At this time, we have not had confirmed detections of this pack within the park, but are continuing to work with National Park Service to monitor for wolf presence in the area. Much of LVNP is remote wilderness that would be ideal habitat for wolves and so it wouldn’t be surprising for this group to be using parts of the park.”
It is unclear if the wolves belong to an existing group that roams in the northern California territory – known within conservation circles as the Diamond Pack.
Other nearby packs include the Lassen Pack – situated further south in Lassen National Forest, and the Antelope Pack which are reported to be another new male-female pair in the Sierra Nevada Valley, according to OutdoorLife.
The Gray wolf sighting confirms the pack as the third to be spotted in California this year after they were previously thought to be extinct.
Officials have reportedly identified the adult female within the pack as a 3-year-old from the Lassen Packs 2021 litter in northern California but the male’s origins are yet to be confirmed.
“Wolves rarely pose a direct threat to human safety, with wild wolves generally avoiding people. As with all wild areas of California, we encourage people to recreate responsibly in areas where large carnivores may be present,” Hunnicutt added.
Gray wolves were typically hunted in the early 20th century but, today, they are strictly protected under the California Endangered Species Act and the federal Endangered Species Act.
Previously thought to be extinct in California – the return of wolves has widely been praised by conservationists in the past year and the news of the new pack has been well-received by social media users online.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Gray wolves were extirpated from California in the 1920s.
One Facebook user said: “So excited. I hope this pack survives. Amazing news (love heart emoji)”
Whereas another wrote: “Yay!! We needed this shot of hope!”
The return of Gray wolves is expected to benefit other endangered species in the area such as Sierra Nevada Red Foxes who were “outcompeted by coyotes” ever since the wolves disappeared, wrote California Wolf Watch.
Therefore, some hope that the wolf resurgence will drive out coyotes and lead to population growth in the beloved Red Fox.
As of October, seven packs were reported to be roaming in northern California, as per CBS – making this new pack the ninth, after the Diamond Pack, to roam the mountainous terrain.
