A pack of gray wolves has been spotted and photographed in California for the first time since the 1920s.
A trail camera took a photo of the wolves on Aug. 9 in Siskiyou County near Mt. Shasta in the northern part of California. In the group of seven wolves are an adult male, adult female and their five pups,
noted KTLA-TV.
"This news is exciting for California," said Charlton H. Bonham, of California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "We knew wolves would eventually return home to the state and it appears now is the time."
The wildlife agency's
website said additional cameras were sent to the area after the initial contact.
"Wild wolves historically inhabited California, but were extirpated," said the website. "Aside from these wolves and the famous wolf OR7 who entered California in December 2011, the last confirmed wolf in the state was here in 1924. OR7 has not been in California for more than a year and is currently the breeding male of the Rogue Pack in southern Oregon."
The California Fish and Game Commission has voted to list gray wolves as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act in 2014. The gray wolf is also listed as endangered in California under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973.
State officials said they are working on a plan to manage the wolves.
Gray wolves usually have a grizzled, blackish or whitish coat. Common before in Eurasia and North America, some subspecies are now near extinction.
"The presence of an entire pack indicates that gray wolves are back for good, and according to polls and last year's listing under the California Endangered Species Act, Californians are ready to welcome them home," said Jamie Rappaport, president of Defenders of Wildlife.
"We have been given a second chance to restore this iconic species to a landscape they had been missing from for nearly 100 years. We must seize this opportunity to forge new partnerships to help wolves live in harmony with people and livestock in their California home," he said in a
statement.