"The lone gray wolf sighted in Siskiyou County this spring wasn’t quite so lonesome as it once appeared."
"On Thursday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released photos of five wolf pups with a pair of adults, one of them thought to be the wolf seen in the spring. It is the first confirmed sighting of a gray wolf pack in modern California history."
One of the pups, looking a little gangly
"The development caught state biologists by surprise – and they’re now scrambling to revise and finalize a wolf-management plan that had been under development since another gray wolf, known as OR7, wandered into California from Oregon in late 2011. OR7’s arrival marked the state’s first confirmed wolf sighting since 1924. At the time, biologists said it was only a matter of time before wolves became established in California – but they didn’t expect it to be so soon."
“They have beat us to the punch on a couple of occasions now,” Eric Loft, chief of the department’s wildlife branch, told reporters Thursday during a phone briefing."
"Thursday’s announcement followed news last month that trail cameras set out by state biologists had photographed a lone wolf – not OR7 – near McCloud in May and July. The agency set out additional cameras in the same area. That resulted in multiple photos showing the five pups and two adults."
"The entire pack has black fur. The pups appear to be about 4 months old and weigh 35 to 40 pounds. Given their proximity to Mount Shasta, state officials are calling the family “the Shasta Pack.”
Too cool. I use to live on a little 40 acre ranch outside of Yreka in Siskiyou County. Although I had livestock (draft horses, dairy goats, and - for a while - a herd of Jacob sheep), I would have been pleased to know there were wolves that close by. Coyotes and mountain lions were our predators back then ('87 through '95), killing pairs, mostly. There used to be plenty of deer (Pacific blacktail were common where I was and down in McCloud/Mt Shasta) and the smaller mammals, so I doubt a small pack of wolves will pose any problems for the ranchers in the area.
ReplyDeleteI miss Siskiyou County, but I sure don't miss California's politics, and the BS that comes out of Sacramento. I'd consider going back if the folks up there ever get around to actually seceding and forming the State of Jefferson (along with Southern Oregon).
I actually saw a State of Jefferson sign as far south as Auburn yesterday. A surprising number of folk would welcome a new, more rural minded state.
DeleteI like wolves. I just do.
ReplyDeleteThe wolves in Idaho kill game just to kill. They don't eat the majority of what they kill, they kill for the fun of killing. Where I used to see plentiful game, I now see only a smattering of it.
ReplyDeleteSmall pack or large, they just kill.
Dave