It was bright and fast, and the Axel Honeycutt was howling.
He was looking for a wolf. Sometimes they giggle, providing a sense of their position.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported this week that there are three new wolf packs in the far north of the state. Hunnicutt, the agency’s greywolf coordinator, was trying to track down one of them. This is a newly built Ashpan pack consisting of at least two wolves roaming eastern Shasta County.
There are also ishi packs in eastern Tehama County and Tonnison Packs in Central Lassen County. Some experts say there may be more than 70 wolves living in California.
“I don’t want to boast, but I think my Howl is pretty good,” Funanicatt said over the phone as he heads to the town of Bernie, north of Lassen Volcanoes National Park. He had taken a break from the search day that began at 5am, and was working hard to add to the information state wildlife officials knew about the pack.
The goal is to capture and equip one of the wolves with GPS colours. This allows them to share information about the animal’s location with livestock owners. And it will make it easier to track them again and collar more wolves if necessary.
The new pack trio brings state totals to 10, indicating the continued revival of dog children protected by state and federal endangered species laws. By the end of last year, there were seven packs, and five years ago there was only one pack.
All the latest packs were confirmed by what Hunnicutt described as “sustainable.” This records at least four wolves together over six months. At least three wolves make up the stone pack. It is not clear whether one is the other two descendants.
It’s welcome for nature conservatives who want to see native animals in the state thrive. However, many ranchers see the rise of wolves as a threat to their livelihoods.
California wolves were killed by humans about a century ago, and began recolonizing the nation about 14 years ago. In recent years, the population has begun to take off. By the end of last year there were around 50 people, wildlife officials said. As puppies are born and die, the population fluctuates throughout the year and can be higher at this time.
As the number of wolves increases, so does the number of cows attacking. State data shows 26 cases of looting of livestock have been investigated between January and March of this year, of which 16 were identified as perpetrators.
Kirk Wilber, vice president of government affairs for the California Cattle Association, a trade association representing ranchers and beef producers, said at least two new packs of wolves are known to have prey on livestock.
“In the north states, there were real emotional effects, real fear,” Wilbur said. “People who probably never plunder a wolf in a flock nevertheless fear the possibility, and those who have been embarrassed by the wolves really stress these producers, taxing and suppressing them.”
This month, Shasta County joined four other Northern California counties, declaring a state of emergency due to the wolves. The county’s board of supervisors also wrote a letter to the State Wildlife Service for immediate assistance and regulatory changes to better equip the county, according to a news release.
The state is taking steps to address ranchers’ concerns. About two weeks ago, the state’s Wildlife Department announced the release of an online map showing the approximate locations of GPS-Collard wolves. Anyone can check it out, but it is directed at wiggling ranchers to prevent wolves livestock conflicts.
California wildlife officials are planning to complete a status review of the wolf population and are investigating the possibility of allowing animals to attack, including firing non-lethal ammunition at them.
The state agency also offers a refund to ranchers of livestock killed by wolves. At one point, the state also provided non-fatal tools and money to cover indirect losses, but Hunnicutt said the program doesn’t have enough funds anymore.
Wilbur said the new pack highlights the longstanding belief by his group that the grey wolves don’t need to be on the California Endangered Species Species List, which was added in 2014.
Hunnicutt said it wasn’t too cut and dry.
“If you use wolves, if you are allowed to protect them they have, they will really work and recover quickly,” he said. “On the contrary, it doesn’t take long to beat these 10 packs entirely.”
He noted that hundreds of thousands of wolves had been eradicated from the western United States within decades.
According to Hunnicutt, around 50 animals are generally not considered a “viable population.” If the population reaches about 150, he said protection could likely be eased.
Amaroquis, a senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biodiversity, a conservation group, considers wolves’ growth to be typical. She said the state’s 2016 wolf conservation plan identified approximately 23,000 square miles of suitable wolf habitat in an area located in the Interstate 80 area.
Weiss said misunderstandings and misinformation are driving backlash against animals.
“Decades of research have shown that conflicts between livestock, wolves and people are rare and preventable,” she said in a statement. “These magnificent animals are extremely valuable as they help keep nature healthy in the wild and in the end, and they also benefit humans.”
Back in Shasta County, Honeycutt was hot on the Ashpanpack trail. He picked up the truck, which led him to a fresh poop. He scooped it up. “Ahhh! I’m going to understand who it is,” he said.
He believes that the two wolves in the pack could be Denning. It’s currently the season. In other words, they breed and women gave birth in their dens.
When the wolves are ringing, they are pinned to one spot that increases the likelihood of finding them. Hunnicutt said it essentially requires trying to find 1 square mile activity in a 1,000 square mile search area.
“It’s difficult, but I love it,” he said.
After lunch at Bernie he returned to scouting.
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