Two years after the startling discovery of five newborn wolves in Siskiyou County, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week that three more wolf cubs have been found in western Lassen County — photographed while playing in front of a trail camera.

“We are excited by the discovery of a second pack. If two packs can be established, then others can get here,” said Jordan Traverso, a department spokeswoman. “This is historic wolf habitat and it’s great to see them return to where they were once all pushed out.”

Their birth represents the steady expansion of wolves across the western United States, restoring a creature that was once shot, trapped and poisoned to near extinction. They live somewhere southwest of Susanville in the dry, volanic and rugged landscape of Lassen National Forest. They are also believed to have wandered into Plumas County, where tracks were seen.

The discovery boosts the chances that this revered and reviled creature may be here to stay — recolonizing much of its historic habitat.

California’s wolves trace their lineage back to Canada — via Idaho and then Oregon.

Their ancestors were 35 animals were introduced from Canada into central Idaho in 1995 and 1996. These wolves then spread west into Oregon, then south to the Golden State, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Wolves also were re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park, but they are not linked to California’s births.

Now, an estimated 1,700 wolves roam Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and California. Last March, a California youngster — from the Siskiyou litter — moved into northwestern Nevada, becoming the state’s first wolf since 1922.

Oregon has 112 known wolves, with eight breeding pairs. Washington has 115 wolves, with 10 breeding pairs.

The Lassen litter traces its roots back to a lone male, called OR-7, which in 2011 was the first wolf to enter the Golden State in nearly a century. He trotted from southern Oregon into California, generating a Twitter feed of devoted fans and a fierce debate over wolf protection.

While OR-7 didn’t linger here long, soon returning to Oregon, one of his male offspring became a Californian — and sired this latest generation. The lineage of the female is unknown.

The two California litters are likely distant cousins. That’s because the Lassen County’s grandsire OR-7 was born in the Imnaha pack in 2009. And the Siskiyou pack also traces its heritage back to the Imnaha pack, from later litters. Their mother is OR-7’s sister.

“The Imnaha pack is therefore setting up quite a dynasty here in California,” said Amaroq Weiss, the West Coast wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

“This is cause for enormous celebration and an important reminder that, if these animals are going to survive and thrive in California, we need to make sure they’re protected,” Weiss said. “Wolves lived in California for thousands of years and it’s really exciting to see them returning home.”

Pamela Flick of the environmental advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife called the discovery “an exciting new chapter in wolf recovery in the Pacific West.”

But their birth will fuel to the contentious debate over wolf management, an issue that’s followed its westward recolonization of its historic habitat. A lawsuit has been filed by the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of California ranchers and farmers. They assert that there’s no proof that these wolves are the same subspecies originally native to California, so the state protection is illegal.

The California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Cattlemen’s Association are worried that if wolf populations continue to grow, their livestock is at risk.

Biologists suspected the presence of the Lassen pups on June 30, when they captured a 75-pound adult female gray wolf — and discovered she was still nursing. They quickly collected genetic and other biological samples, attached a GPS-equipped tracking collar and then released her.

She is the first wolf to be collared and tracked in California. The collar will collect valuable data about her travels, reproduction, survival and prey preferences, Traverso said. Although her location will not be public, biologists will track her travels relative to livestock and ranch lands.

The next day, during a routine follow-up, the biologists found tracks of what appeared to be wolf pups. Then a nearby trail camera, operated by the U.S. Forest Service, revealed photos of the female and three youngsters.

Gray wolves are currently listed as endangered by both the state and federal governments. Their management in California is guided by endangered species laws as well as the state’s “Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves In California,” finalized in 2016.

“Their return has been met with mixed emotion,” Traverso said. “Some see it as excellent news, after 100 years. But a lot of the land up there is used for cattle ranching and there is some concern, too, about people’s property. We look forward to gaining more information from the collared wolf about their habits.”

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED

To learn more, go to: www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Gray-Wolf.