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CA: Experts say wolves unlikely to return to Southern California

By Stephanie Sumell

Photos of a pack of gray wolves in Northern California have caused quite a stir. The largely nocturnal creatures were almost hunted to extinction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the western U.S. by hunters and ranchers who sought to protect their livestock. Now it looks as though the wolves have made their way home.

Last week the California Department of Fish and Wildlife posted pictures on its website of five gray wolf pups and two adults, all black in color, in Siskiyou County.

The agency said that after trail cameras recorded a lone wolf earlier in the summer DFW placed more cameras in the area to better understand the wolves’ presence. One of the cameras took multiple photos of the pups, and others took images of the adults in the mountainous region along the Oregon border.

The recent photos of what has been referred to as the Shasta Pack mark the end of an era many environmentalists wish had never begun.

“This is the first time that this has happened in 91 years,” said Jordan Traverso, the deputy director of communication, education and outreach for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. “It’s very exciting for the biodiversity of the state.”

But the chances of the endangered species making its way to Southern California are slim.

Wildlife experts say that, though the animals have traveled into the upper regions of the state, it is unlikely they will make their way to the Santa Monica Mountains and other southern territories.

“It isn’t realistic,” Traverso said. “Southern California is a historic habitat for wolves, but a number of freeways and developments have popped up in the last century. It would be long journey with a lot of hurdles because there are no natural wildlife corridors that would get them straight there.”

Traverso said the topography in Northern California is a more suitable habitat for the roaming creatures, which can travel between 25 and 30 miles a day.

The wolves’ reappearance in California comes two decades after federal officials reintroduced wolves into Yellowstone National Park.

Since then, the animals have spread to neighboring states—in- cluding California.

A lone wolf named OR-7 made headlines four years ago when the animal traveled from Oregon to California. The animal, collared with a radio transmitter by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, went back and forth across the state border several times before settling in his home state of Oregon, where he is part of a breeding pair.

State officials spotted another lone adult wolf earlier this year. The animal is thought to be associated with the Siskiyou wolves because of where it was photographed.

“With their population expanding it was kind of expected,” Krista Fahy of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History said of the wolves’ return to the state. “Everybody was looking forward to one of these larger, upper level predators coming back into an area they formerly occupied.”

Not everyone is pleased by the news.

Traverso said the reestablishment of wolves in Northern California has been met with mixed opinions from cattle ranchers and others concerned about how the wolves might affect their livelihoods.

For that reason, among others, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will not intentionally reintroduce the animals into native areas but will instead let nature take its course.

“Every decision involving wolves thus far has been met with controversy, from reestablishment to collaring to protection,” Traverso said. “I don’t think that, as a state department, we could get all of our stakeholders to agree on how we could reintroduce and manage wolves.”

Whether the department will use collars or microchips to track the animals has yet to be determined.

Such technology is used in states such as Oregon so that wildlife experts can keep tabs on the endangered species’ whereabouts. It is illegal to hunt, capture or harm gray wolves in any way.

“We are evaluating the logistics of doing that,” Traverso said of possibly tracking the animals. “We haven’t made a final decision yet.”

But no matter where the wolves are, she said, they pose very little threat to humans.

The animals, which are larger than most dogs, mainly prey on elk, deer, livestock and other animals.

Instances of wolves attacking humans are almost unheard of.

“They want nothing to do with us,” Traverso said. “They are a species that excel at staying hidden.”

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

The wildlife expert said it is too early to tell how the animals will affect the greater ecosystem.

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