For ads-free news, click here.
From the Daily Mail: An endangered predator has returned to California after vanishing more than 100 years ago.
At least 44 gray wolves have been spotted in the West Coast state, including a record-breaking 30 new pups this year alone, according to Axel Hunnicutt, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s gray wolf coordinator.
This is the biggest increase in a century, with the animals from seven different packs now in nine of the state’s 58 counties, Marin Independent Journal reported.
But not everyone is happy about the return of the the gray wolf and are concerned about the risk to farmers’ livestock.
Ranchers are sounding the alarm, since wolves eat calves, sheep and other farm animals.
The Marin Independent Journal quoted Rick Roberti, a fourth-generation cattle rancher in Plumas County, as saying, “One of them killed a calf a quarter-mile from our house. It’s adding a lot of stress. Wolves chase the cattle. They stress them out. It gets frantic. They will run them for miles. The cattle stampede through fences.”
“The wolf is going to spread throughout California,” Roberti warned. “There’s nothing to stop it. They are going to move, and I think it’s going to be a crisis. We’re not set up for it.”
The wolves are a protected species in California, so people can’t shoot them unless the wolves are threatening a human. Other states’ rules about wolves are not as radical:
In Wyoming, state laws allow property owners to shoot wolves on sight. They are hunted in Idaho and Montana, with hundreds killed every year. In Oregon and Washington, there are more protections, but wolves can be shot if they are attacking livestock.
The report quotes Janna Gliatto, a manager at Table Rock Ranch in Monatgue, as saying to SF Gate: ‘Our hands are tied. We’ve been invaded’.
Environmentalist groups such as the Wolf Conservation Center and the Center For Biological Diversity are cheering the return of the wolves in California.
Amazing news: California’s gray wolves have welcomed 30 new pups this year, bringing the total number of known wolves in California to 65! 🐺 🐺 🐺
Learn more: https://t.co/ygW4Vocsvy pic.twitter.com/v23h5CpYDZ
— Center for Biological Diversity (@CenterForBioDiv) September 6, 2024
In 2011, the 1st wolf in 100+ yrs was spotted in CA. Now, the state is home to 44 – proving that wolves truly belong.
State biologists estimate that CA north of I- 80 could support between 371 and 497 wolves.https://t.co/SkO16O43gz
— Wolf Conservation Center 🐺 (@nywolforg) September 3, 2024
AMAZING! 5 of CA’s 7 known gray wolf packs have had pups this year, according to a new report from the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife. With 30 new pups, the total wolf population in the state has now grown to 65.
The wolves are fully protected 🙂https://t.co/XAZ2gk7w5w
— Wolf Conservation Center 🐺 (@nywolforg) September 6, 2024
‘Amazing’: New data shows Calif. gray wolf population has skyrocketed https://t.co/QGDjpzylzh
— SFGATE (@SFGate) September 4, 2024
Five of California’s seven known gray wolf packs have had pups this year, according to a new report from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. https://t.co/ApPJJRK1nX pic.twitter.com/LomAseWf1e
— KTLA (@KTLA) September 6, 2024
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below, with the most recent on top. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
