California is seeing the re-emergence of gray wolves a century after the last of them was shot dead. The native species completely vanished from the state after the last gray wolf was killed in 1924. However, their population has once again started to grow.

According to the state's gray wolf officials, at least 30 new wolf pups were born across California’s wolf packs this spring. Axel Hunnicutt, the state gray wolf coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, says that this was the biggest jump recorded in the number of California wolves in a century.

Gray wolves have been a controversial topic in California and have seen a huge surge in number in the past years. Hunnicutt told SF Gate that 70 pups were born in the last seven years in the state.&nbsp;

Gray wolves made a return to California after wolf OR-7 came from Oregon to Siskiyou County in 2011. After just four years, the first pack of wolves in recent times came into existence in the state.

However, it is only now that the wolves are making their presence felt with their howling. The gray wolf population more than doubled between 2022 and 2023. From just 18 wolves the number went to over 40 last year. The number of packs has also risen from three to seven, according to Hunnicutt.&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/sea-creatures-that-deviated-from-a-species-780000-years-ago-found-in-antarctica-755814">Sea creatures that deviated from a species 780,000 years ago found in Antarctica</a>

Some of them have now moved from the northeast to the far south, including the southern Sierra Nevada.

<h2>How did the wolves return?</h2>

Experts say that this is largely because of the federal protection provided to the wolves under the California Endangered Species Act. It makes it illegal for them to be hunted down unless they are about to harm a human. “Having [the gray wolf] come back is amazing,” Amaroq Weiss, a wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, told SF Gate.

However, there are others who are facing negative consequences of their return. The wolves have killed several calves, and Janna Gliatto, a manager at Table Rock Ranch, told the publication that they feel helpless. “Our hands are tied. We’ve been invaded," she said.&nbsp; 
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California is seeing the re-emergence of gray wolves a century after the last of them was shot dead. The native species completely vanished from the state after the last gray wolf was killed in 1924.

California is seeing the re-emergence of gray wolves a century after the last of them was shot dead. The native species completely vanished from the state after the last gray wolf was killed in 1924. However, their population has once again started to grow. According to the state's gray wolf officials, at least 30 new wolf pups were born across California’s wolf packs this spring. Axel Hunnicutt, the state gray wolf coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, says that this was the biggest jump recorded in the number of California wolves in a century. Gray wolves have been a controversial topic in California and have seen a huge surge in number in the past years. Hunnicutt told SF Gate that 70 pups were born in the last seven years in the state. Gray wolves made a return to California after wolf OR-7 came from Oregon to Siskiyou County in 2011. After just four years, the first pack of wolves in recent times came into existence in the state. However, it is only now that the wolves are making their presence felt with their howling. The gray wolf population more than doubled between 2022 and 2023. From just 18 wolves the number went to over 40 last year. The number of packs has also risen from three to seven, according to Hunnicutt. Also Read: Sea creatures that deviated from a species 780,000 years ago found in Antarctica Some of them have now moved from the northeast to the far south, including the southern Sierra Nevada. How did the wolves return? Experts say that this is largely because of the federal protection provided to the wolves under the California Endangered Species Act. It makes it illegal for them to be hunted down unless they are about to harm a human. “Having [the gray wolf] come back is amazing,” Amaroq Weiss, a wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, told SF Gate. However, there are others who are facing negative consequences of their return. The wolves have killed several calves, and Janna Gliatto, a manager at Table Rock Ranch, told the publication that they feel helpless. “Our hands are tied. We’ve been invaded," she said.

California is seeing the return of a wild animal after 100 years. 'We’ve been invaded'

Gray wolves, one of the first animals shielded by the Endangered Species Act after Americans all but exterminated them in the lower 48 states, will no longer receive federal protection, officials announced Thursday.

“After more than 45 years as a listed species, the gray wolf has exceeded all conservation goals for recovery,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a statement.

Environmentalists condemned the decision as dangerously premature and vowed to take the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back to court, where they have successfully blocked previous attempts to strip wolves of federal protections. “Wolves just occupy a fraction of their former range,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and chief executive of Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group. “There’s so much work that needs to be done.”

The new rule will officially publish Tuesday and become effective 60 days after that. Then, states and tribes will assume control of the nation’s wolves, except for a subspecies called the Mexican wolf that remains under federal protection.

Thursday’s decision came despite significant concerns raised by scientists who performed the independent review that is required before the Fish and Wildlife Service can delist a species. Four of the five researchers charged with reviewing the proposal raised substantive concerns.

“I thought it was critically flawed,” said Carlos Carroll, an independent biologist with the Klamath Center for Conservation Research who said the Fish and Wildlife Service proposal, which is based on the consensus that wolves now face a low risk of extinction, ignored the importance of genetic variation in species.

That variation will be critical to allowing the animals to adapt to future threats like climate change, Carroll said, and is essential for their long-term survival.

Another reviewer, Adrian Treves, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he was troubled that the Fish and Wildlife Service seemed to disregard his concerns that the proposal did not accurately estimate how many wolves would be killed by people.

“I predict that the consequence of the inaccurate risk assessment is that gray wolves are not secure in the Western Great Lakes,” he wrote last month in a follow-up memo to the federal Office of Management and Budget, “and the federal government will have to re-list them again, either by federal court mandate or after another wolf population crash.”

Gray wolves, one of the first animals shielded by the Endangered Species Act after Americans all but exterminated them in the lower 48 states, will no longer receive federal protection, officials announced Thursday.

Gray wolves, one of the first animals shielded by the Endangered Species Act after Americans all but exterminated them in the lower 48 states, will no longer receive federal protection, officials announced Thursday. “After more than 45 years as a listed species, the gray wolf has exceeded all conservation goals for recovery,” Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a statement. Environmentalists condemned the decision as dangerously premature and vowed to take the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back to court, where they have successfully blocked previous attempts to strip wolves of federal protections. “Wolves just occupy a fraction of their former range,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and chief executive of Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group. “There’s so much work that needs to be done.” The new rule will officially publish Tuesday and become effective 60 days after that. Then, states and tribes will assume control of the nation’s wolves, except for a subspecies called the Mexican wolf that remains under federal protection. Thursday’s decision came despite significant concerns raised by scientists who performed the independent review that is required before the Fish and Wildlife Service can delist a species. Four of the five researchers charged with reviewing the proposal raised substantive concerns. “I thought it was critically flawed,” said Carlos Carroll, an independent biologist with the Klamath Center for Conservation Research who said the Fish and Wildlife Service proposal, which is based on the consensus that wolves now face a low risk of extinction, ignored the importance of genetic variation in species. That variation will be critical to allowing the animals to adapt to future threats like climate change, Carroll said, and is essential for their long-term survival. Another reviewer, Adrian Treves, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he was troubled that the Fish and Wildlife Service seemed to disregard his concerns that the proposal did not accurately estimate how many wolves would be killed by people. “I predict that the consequence of the inaccurate risk assessment is that gray wolves are not secure in the Western Great Lakes,” he wrote last month in a follow-up memo to the federal Office of Management and Budget, “and the federal government will have to re-list them again, either by federal court mandate or after another wolf population crash.”

US to remove wolves from protected species list

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