First wolf pack found in California in nearly a century

A gray wolf pack has established itself in Northern California, state wildlife officials confirmed on Thursday, the first family of wolves known in the state in nearly 100 years.

The group — two adult black-furred gray wolves and five 4-month-old pups — will be known as the Shasta Pack.

The announcement came after trail cameras in remote Siskiyou County captured a series of photographs in May and June of what appeared to be a wolf. Biologists retrieved scat samples and placed more cameras in the area, hoping for a better look.

On Aug. 9, the cameras photographed two separate black-furred wolves, believed to be adults. Five black wolf pups were photographed in the same spot. The evidence was in: It was clearly a pack.

State wildlife authorities last year added gray wolves to California's endangered species list, even though no wolves were known to be in the state. Officials said they anticipated that wolves beginning to establish in Oregon would eventually find their way into California’s northern counties.

But biologists did not anticipate discovering an established pack in the state this soon. California’s plan to manage wolves is not yet complete.