Video: California’s Only Wolfpack Welcomes 3 New Pups

Three new pups were born to the breeding female of California’s only wolfpack this spring and they have just been caught by trail camera. Wait until the one minute mark to hear the wolves howl.

While gray wolves are native to California, they were hunted to local extinction within the state during the 1920s by ranchers and farmers who were worried about the impact of wolves on their livelihoods. During the late 1990s, California started trying to reintroduce gray wolves to the state but with little result.

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California’s first modern day wolf pack, the Shasta Pack, was spotted in August 2014 but fled over the border into northwestern Nevada in late 2016. The pups in this video were born to California’s second and only current pack, the Lassen Pack. Experts say this is a positive sign for statewide wolf recovery although agriculturalists are still wary.

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife the three pups raise the number of wolves in California to between seven and ten. Gray wolves are currently an endangered species and protected within California and on a federal level.