Gray Wolves Return to the Golden State—After 91 Years

"Fish and Wildlife captured photos of the wolf family -- dubbed the Shasta Pack for its proximity to Mount Shasta -- on Aug. 9," writes Aaron Kinney of the Bay Area News Group for the San Mateo County Times. "The department had planted surveillance cameras in the forested region after spotting an adult wolf in May and July."

Credit: California Department of Fish and Wildlife news 

OR7, the name given a lone wolf spotted in Northern California in 2011 who created much sensation, is not among them. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reports he is the "breeding male" of a pack in southern Oregon.

How do they know? "OR7 was collared with a radio and satellite transmitter by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in early 2011." The trailer for the OR7 - The Journey movie is available on YouTube. Yes, the wolf starred in a movie, and was renamed "Journey," though Fish and Wildlife agencies refer to him by his number.

One speaker forecasted just what happened: "I think it is inevitable that others will follow the same corridor from Oregon to California." 

"Journey's trip is only possible because we have those strong environmental laws and shows how far we have come," states Rob Klavins of Oregon Wild in the 2014 NBC News Video.

Gray wolves are listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), notwithstanding an attempt by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist them last year, and by the California Fish and Game Commission as of June 2014. As such, they are fully protected, "making it illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, (or) capture," warns CDFW.

"This is an Endangered Species Act success story in the making," said Pamela Flick of Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation nonprofit.

The department has been expecting wolves to migrate from Oregon, "(b)ut the appearance of the Shasta Pack came sooner than Fish and Wildlife had anticipated," writes Kinney.

"These animals have a tremendous ability to reoccupy former range (and) their reproductive potential is quite high," Karen Kovacs, the agency's wildlife program manager for Northern California, said Thursday. "These are very resilient critters."

As one might imagine, not everyone is jubilant with the return of the canine predators. "The possibility of wolf-livestock interaction is a big concern for us," said Kirk Wilbur, government relations director for the California Cattlemen's Association, writes Kinney, but he adds:

There is no evidence at this point that the wolf pack has taken any livestock, and ranchers who own land in the Shasta Pack's territory have not expressed animosity toward the predators, Fish and Wildlife officials said.

Best of luck to the Shasta Pack!