California has long been infusing a lot of energy into protect and improve the living conditions of gray wolveswhich are among the few predator species capable of maintaining the ecological balance of the entire country. Unfortunately, a serious population decline in recent years has raised fears that this species was approaching extinction, also due to several incidents in which young wolves have been the worst.
A few days ago, however, the California Department of Fish and Game has released some good news in a quarterly report: at the end of this year’s breeding season, the national wolf population has doubled, thanks to birth of 30 puppies over the past few months. This has brought the national wolf population to 65, although it is likely that some pups may not make it as winter approaches.
«The birth of 30 puppies is in any case excellent news and a hope for the future – he stated Amaroq Weisszoologist at the Center for Biological Diversity – Seeing wolves return to the places this magnificent species once called home and having these adorable new pups is the height of inspiration.”
Experts from the Department of Fish and Game recall that California wolves were once completely extinct at the turn of the twentieth centurywith the direct support of the then Californian government that had no idea what the ecological consequences of such an act would be. After decades of imbalance and the arrival of other species from neighboring states, the situation improved only in 2011, when a specimen equipped with a radio collar and born in Oregon arrived in California, acting as an attractant for other solitary specimens.
This wolf, known as OR-7 o Journeytraveled back and forth for several years, crossing several states, finally finding a mate in the national forest Rogue River-Siskiyou of Oregon, bordering Northern California, where he raised a family before moving south again.
Researchers believe Journey and his companion died in 2020, at the ripe old age of 11, but their children and grandchildren have continued to inhabit California, forming several groups and giving new hope to a country that has seen its own civilization crumble over the past 100 years. biodiversitydue to the wicked choices made at the dawn of the twentieth century.
There are currently several environmental groups in California that help experts monitor the various wolf populations, but according to Weiss, in order to stay healthy, wolves must maintain their strong state and federal protections, so that no one can harm or kill them without consequences. In recent years, accidents have often been caused by hunters or motorists, some of whom have shown contempt for these magnificent animals.