Two wolf pups seen on Warm Springs Reservation

(Update: Adding more details)

MOUNT HOOD, Ore. (AP) – Two wolf pups have been seen near Mount Hood, marking the first known reproduction by wolves in the northern part of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon since wolves began returning to the state in the past decade.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday that a remote camera on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation captured images of two pups on Aug. 19. They can be seen by their parents, known as the White River Wolves.

ODFW said the new pair of southern Wasco County wolves south of Mount Hood have produced at least two pups this year, first caught on remote camera on the reservation Aug. 10 and again nine days later.

Wolves in Wasco County and anywhere west of Highways 395-78-95 are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the lead management agency.

ODFW, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs are working together to monitor this group of wolves.

The tribes’ Wildlife Department said the single male wolf first was spotted on the reservation in 2014 and a mate was seen two years later.

Reservation biologists said it was the first verified known wolf reproduction on the reservation since the mid-1940s.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that as of 2017, Oregon was home to at least 124 wolves, mostly concentrated in the northeast corner of the state