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First wolf pack found in California in nearly a century

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Head of Vengarl

Head of Vengarl

Banned
A gray wolf pack has established itself in Northern California, state wildlife officials confirmed on Thursday, the first family of wolves known in the state in nearly 100 years.

The group — two adult black-furred gray wolves and five 4-month-old pups — will be known as the Shasta Pack.
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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-ln-california-wolf-pack-08132015-story.html

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The announcement came after trail cameras in remote Siskiyou County captured a series of photographs in May and June of what appeared to be a wolf. Biologists retrieved scat samples and placed more cameras in the area, hoping for a better look.

On Aug. 9, the cameras photographed two separate black-furred wolves, believed to be adults. Five black wolf pups were photographed in the same spot. The evidence was in: It was clearly a pack.

State wildlife authorities last year added gray wolves to California's endangered species list, even though no wolves were known to be in the state. Officials said they anticipated that wolves beginning to establish in Oregon would eventually find their way into California’s northern counties.

But biologists did not anticipate discovering an established pack in the state this soon. California’s plan to manage wolves is not yet complete.

“We were really excited if not amazed” at how rapidly wolves have reappeared in Northern California, said Eric Loft, chief of the Wildlife Branch of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. “They have beat us to the punch.”

Officials said the adult wolves may have dispersed from Oregon's Rogue Pack but won't know the animals' lineage until genetic tests are completed.

Karen Kovacs, who has been monitoring the wolves for the state, said the adult wolves in the Shasta Pack are not likely the progeny of OR7, the lone male who wandered Oregon and California in 2011. That male was the first confirmed wolf in California since 1924.

OR7 now has a mate and is part of a pack in Oregon. The Oregon-Washington region is home to an estimated 145 wolves in 31 packs.

Kovacs said biologists will try to place a radio collar on at least one of the Shasta Pack adults.

Wolves in the West have generally thrived since they were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995.

Wolves were afforded federal protections in 1973, after being hunted to near-extinction. Their presence in a now-urbanized West has been controversial and states have successfully petitioned to manage the animals, creating a sometimes confusing legal patchwork. Wolves do not have federal protection in Alaska, Idaho, Montana and parts of Utah, Oregon and Washington.

Determining wolf populations in the Northern Rockies is imprecise, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are at least 1,657 wolves in 282 packs in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Federal biologists consider wolf populations to be stable.

Wolves now occupy about 10% of their former range and biologists across the West have marveled at the large carnivore's capacity to adapt to significantly altered landscapes and navigate areas of encroaching human development.

Kovacs called the successful reintroduction of wolves “remarkable.”

“These are very resilient critters,” she said.

In fact, the most serious impediment to wolf reintroduction has been animosity toward them from some ranchers and hunters, who say wolves kill livestock and reduce game herds on public lands.

The discovery of the Shasta Pack comes as deer hunting season begins in Siskiyou County. It is illegal to harm an endangered species, but some light-colored wolves have been killed by shooters who say they mistook the animals for coyotes.

No such confusion will be possible with the animals in the Shasta Pack, Kovacs said. “It’s going to be pretty hard to look at a black wolf and conclude it’s a coyote.”
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I'm not a rancher, so I think this is exciting news!
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Wolves are awesome.

Very intelligent animals. We wouldn't have such a deer overpopulation problem it we didn't almost hunt them and pumas to near extinction.
 
T

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
This is awesome to hear. I hope more packs start appearing.
 
Boss Doggie

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
I need wolf puppy pictures.

Anyway that's cool. I hope there's no ecological imbalance. Maybe they'll help with the deer overpopulation?
 
Premium Quality

Premium Quality

Member
That's pretty cool. Hope grizzly bears make a return as well.
It's pretty sad that the bear in our state flag is not found anywhere in our state.
 
L

lednerg

Member
Gray wolves are the species we got dogs from. It's kinda messed up how few of them are left in the wild despite how cherished they are in domesticated form.
 
M

Madness

Member
Biforce Of Power said:
Fuck, don't say shit like that. If that happens, I'll be on the first flight to CA to dish out some justice. Leave the goddamn wolves alone, you cuntish hunters.
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Remember the last wolf thread? The first Gray Wolf found in the Grand Canyon in 70 years, it travelled hundreds of miles, and was shot dead by a hunter who later claimed he thought it was a coyote. Wildlife has no chance with modern man, especially not in a country where guns and hunting are somehow integral to life. In that thread we had a GAF'er say his family owned the most land in Wisconsin, that the wolves nearby should be killed because they couldn't co-exist.

All its going to take is some hiker, someone's pet, or anything else that seems like prey to an apex predator being killed and out come the rifles.

Wolves were hunted to extinction in Britain, wolf howling is seen as a bad omen, most children's fables employed the 'big bad wolf' moniker. Such an amazing animal had long been maligned by humanity and yet their favorite animal (dog) is descended from the wolf with human design.

Nothing will change though. Recently my cousins told me they had animal control kill a family of coyotes nearby their house in WA state. Said they would be a danger to children. I get that. But within a year, the area they live has seen almost 100 acres of evergreen forest be razed to make dozens and dozens of sub developments. Where do you think the wildlife will go? Humans build up to beaches and coastlines, they build acre farms and raise livestock/prey. They're even up in mountains where they leave trash open on sidewalks and then complain and have bears killed when they come eat.
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
StayDead said:
Hopefully humans will leave them alone. I bet some asshole will go hunt them though.
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"I thought it was a huge, off-color coyote. Honest. ...So can I keep it? It's already dead and I figured it would look good over the mantle."
 
J

jerry1594

Member
lednerg said:
Gray wolves are the species we got dogs from. It's kinda messed up how few of them are left in the wild despite how cherished they are in domesticated form.
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There are a lot of wolves. Not many south of Canada.
Madness said:
Remember the last wolf thread? The first Gray Wolf found in the Grand Canyon in 70 years, it travelled hundreds of miles, and was shot dead by a hunter who later claimed he thought it was a coyote. Wildlife has no chance with modern man, especially not in a country where guns and hunting are somehow integral to life. In that thread we had a GAF'er say his family owned the most land in Wisconsin, that the wolves nearby should be killed because they couldn't co-exist.

All its going to take is some hiker, someone's pet, or anything else that seems like prey to an apex predator being killed and out come the rifles.

Wolves were hunted to extinction in Britain, wolf howling is seen as a bad omen, most children's fables employed the 'big bad wolf' moniker. Such an amazing animal had long been maligned by humanity and yet their favorite animal (dog) is descended from the wolf with human design.

Nothing will change though. Recently my cousins told me they had animal control kill a family of coyotes nearby their house in WA state. Said they would be a danger to children. I get that. But within a year, the area they live has seen almost 100 acres of evergreen forest be razed to make dozens and dozens of sub developments. Where do you think the wildlife will go? Humans build up to beaches and coastlines, they build acre farms and raise livestock/prey. They're even up in mountains where they leave trash open on sidewalks and then complain and have bears killed when they come eat.
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Human beings are a cancer to every ecosystem they come across. Except desert, they are good at making more of that.
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Raistlin said:
You all have no idea what you're in for
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human beings in mortal danger? every night we see dozens upon dozens of... oh, wait. people don't get attacked by wolves. never mind.

Madness said:
Remember the last wolf thread? The first Gray Wolf found in the Grand Canyon in 70 years, it travelled hundreds of miles, and was shot dead by a hunter who later claimed he thought it was a coyote. Wildlife has no chance with modern man, especially not in a country where guns and hunting are somehow integral to life. In that thread we had a GAF'er say his family owned the most land in Wisconsin, that the wolves nearby should be killed because they couldn't co-exist.

All its going to take is some hiker, someone's pet, or anything else that seems like prey to an apex predator being killed and out come the rifles.

Wolves were hunted to extinction in Britain, wolf howling is seen as a bad omen, most children's fables employed the 'big bad wolf' moniker. Such an amazing animal had long been maligned by humanity and yet their favorite animal (dog) is descended from the wolf with human design.

Nothing will change though. Recently my cousins told me they had animal control kill a family of coyotes nearby their house in WA state. Said they would be a danger to children. I get that. But within a year, the area they live has seen almost 100 acres of evergreen forest be razed to make dozens and dozens of sub developments. Where do you think the wildlife will go? Humans build up to beaches and coastlines, they build acre farms and raise livestock/prey. They're even up in mountains where they leave trash open on sidewalks and then complain and have bears killed when they come eat.
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which is nothing but a lie, you'd be hard pressed to find any Coyote attacks against people.
 
D

dalin80

Banned
Agent Gibbs said:
Awesome! wish they could be reintroduced in the UK
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Has been brought up a few times along with evidence from other programmes about how beneficial that could be to the overall ecosystem, there was just one issue... Farmers grandly lost their shit about it.

Reintroduction of big cats on the other hand could be a little easier to swing.
 
Xdrive05

Xdrive05

Member
Cool. I'd support a lottery system to hunt them if/when they need controlled. But until then for fucks sake leave them alone. Hopefully CDFW protects the pack and skull fucks anyone who messes with them.
 
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