Colorado this week announced the birth of a litter of gray wolves on its soil.

In early June, a biologist and an employee in charge of resource management both reported observing two wolves with three cubs from a distance.

This is the first time in eighty years that such an event has occurred in Colorado.

This is a major step in the efforts to reintroduce the species to this western American state.

Experts hope more litters have been born that just haven't been seen yet.

Birth of 3 Wolf Pups Means Colorado Has Its First Native Wolves Since the 1940s https://t.co/PZsJ2mrTNE pic.twitter.com/Cc80LQuqqu

- Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) June 10, 2021

A "historic" step according to the governor

"Colorado is now home to our first litter of wolves since the 1940s," Colorado Governor Jared Polis said Wednesday, calling the event "historic."

In 2020, residents of the state voted in favor of a law to reintroduce these predators by 2023.

"We continue to actively monitor the den, while being extremely careful not to inadvertently jeopardize the survival of these young," said biologist Libbie Miller.

“Not disturbing them remains our main concern.

"

An endangered species

Some 250,000 wolves lived in the United States before the extermination campaigns carried out by European settlers in the 20th century.

Today there are 6,000 gray wolves scattered across 48 states.

At the end of the 1970s, the United States made it a protected species.

There were only a thousand left.

Despite this good news, environmental associations remain concerned about the future of the species.

Donald Trump had indeed withdrawn certain federal protections in 2020, exposing them to the hunt.

In March, hunters in Wisconsin killed 216 wolves in three days, twice as many as allowed.

This represented almost 20% of the population present in this state.

Planet

Cuba: a little white tigress was born at the national zoo, a first

Did you see ?

Coronavirus in India: Screening of 28 elephants after the death of a lioness from the virus

  • Planet

  • Animals

  • United States

  • Threatened species

  • Colorado

  • Wolf