California’s only known wolf pack welcomes 3 pups

SAN FRANCISCO — Wildlife officials say at least three new wolf pups have joined the only known pack in California.

KQED reports that trail cameras set up by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in northeast California recorded the pups and two or three adult wolves in June.

Amaroq Weiss advocates for West Coast wolves with the Center for Biological Diversity. He says that the return of wolves to the state is an important development for conservation efforts.

Wolves are protected under California’s Endangered Species Act even as the federal Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to delist grey wolves as an endangered species.

In 2011, a grey wolf with a radio collar named OR-7 crossed the California border from Oregon and became the first wolf in the state since 1924.