Topics: Animals, California, US News, Nature, Environment
The list of dangerous animals that can kill you in the US is pretty impressive.
You've got black, brown, and polar bears, mountain lions, about 30 species of venomous snakes, wolves, and even sharks, alligators, and crocodiles... not to mention deadly insects, such as spiders and hornets.
If you want to take a hike almost anywhere in the country, you've got to take precautions, and now, Californians must be on the lookout for a new gray wolf pack that has inhabited a national park where they haven't been spotted for almost 100 years.
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All the wild wolves were wiped out of California a century ago due to hunting, but with almost 100 years of federal protection, they are starting to reemerge on their own, despite people previously thinking they were reintroduced, which happened at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, back in 1995.
The apex predator has now returned to Lassen Volcanic National Park for the first time.
A family of wolves - a mom, dad and two pups - has been caught by a camera trap in northern California, according to the US Forest Service.
There are nine wolf packs that are being monitored by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), while there are four other areas with 'wolf activity' having been recorded by the authority.
There is already a wolf pack that has been named 'Lassen', but the group was named for its territory roaming in Lassen County, not Lassen Volcanic National Park.
The CDFW said: "The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a recovering endangered species protected under the California Endangered Species Acts (CESA) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Endangered Species Act.
"This native species was likely extirpated from California in the 1920s. Wolves have returned to California on their own by dispersal of individuals from source populations in other states.
"The public reporting of potential wolf sightings are investigated in California, and valued as a monitoring tool. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) did not reintroduce gray wolves to the state."
The gray wolf's resurgence in California could prove beneficial to the state's eco-system, as it can once again help to balance the predator versus prey dynamics that have recently tipped in favor of the coyotes.
The number of coyotes in California has grown since the wolves dispersed and with the population rise it has had a negative impact on the Sierra Nevada red fox.
