With efforts around the country to restore gray wolves, new packs are forming, and some are expanding further into wilderness areas. One recent pack was found just last summer in Tulare County, California, in the Sequoia National Forest. Wildlife officials say they named the new wolf pack “Yowlumni.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently shared a trail camera video of the wolf pack in the state’s central area, just west of the Sierra Nevada.
Check out the video, and be sure to have the sound on to hear the wolves howl:
The CDFW says they partnered with the Tule River Tribe, who live in the area, to name the animals.
“Vernon Vera, a Tule River Tribal Elder shared that the name Yowlumni comes from the Yowlumni band of the Tule River Yokuts,” wrote CDFW in their post. “He explained that his mother Agnes “was the last fluent speaker of Yowlumni until her passing in 2010. She taught that the Yowlumni were speakers of the ‘Wolf Tongue.’”
When the news of the new wolf pack first broke last year, media reports said the animals are at least 200 miles from the next nearest group of wolves. Officials did conduct a DNA test on the pack’s adult female and said the wolf is related to another wolf called OR7. That animal originally crossed into California from Oregon in 2011.
Wolf packs are essentially families and are very territorial. New packs will travel to find an area of their own.
Despite being one of the most controversial animals, the Endangered Species Act protects wolves. Just two months ago, officials in Colorado released multiple wolves as part of their state’s restoration program.
