Friday, December 30, 2011

Ecology Bulletin:Gray Wolf Detected in California

In what some see as a hopeful sign of a recovering environment,and others see as an alarming incident,scientists have detected the first gray wolf known to be present in California since 1924,when the last one was shot.The wolf was tracked with a GPS collar as it drifted a few miles south of the border from neighboring Oregon.
This may have happened before with a wolf that wasn't collared.If history be any guide,it may well happen again.
The biologists declined to give the wolf's exact location.It is known to have wandered 300 miles on this latest trek,but as it is an endangered species in California,its security is paramount.Ranchers throughout the West view the gray wolf with hostility as a threat to their livestock.
Wolves reintroduced themselves into Oregon in 1999.The wolves may have originated in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho,where they were reintroduced by biologists in 1995.These wolves had been trapped for that purpose in Alberta,Canada.

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