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Heroes

In 1924, the last wolf in California was exterminated. This summer, these 5 pups were discovered.

In the 1920s, California decided to exterminate its wolves.

Photo via skeeze/Pixabay.

The government-funded plan, based largely on local fear of the animals and the concerns of ranchers, was, sadly, extremely successful.

The last wolf was eradicated from the state in 1924. Since then, not a single wolf pack has been sighted and reported in California.

Which is why California wildlife officials were mighty surprised to see this photo, taken earlier this summer, which shows five wolf pups hanging out in the state for the first time in 91 years.

Photo via the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"For us, it's really exciting," Jordan Trevino, a representative of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), told Upworthy. "This is historic wolf habitat, and we've been anticipating them coming back."

According to the CDFW, the pups in the photo are about four months old and weigh 35-40 pounds. Although a lone wolf passed through the state in 2011, this is the first time the appearance of an entire pack has been documented.

"They're in a really remote area that's a mix of private land and forest service land," Trevino said.

The good news: It's not just happening in California. Wolves have been making a big comeback all over the world.

Photo by Stefan/Flickr.

Since they were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the mid-'90s, wolves have been thriving — and spreading out all over the American West. In Europe, restrictions on hunting have led to a significant population rebound across the continent.

There are still some concerns about what a wolf presence in California might mean.

Cattle ranchers and elk ranchers are worried about how the wolf resurgence could affect the safety of their livestock.

But for California's ecosystem, it's an all-too-rare piece of great news.

Studies of Yellowstone found a significant decrease in biodiversity following the elimination of wolves and grizzly bears from the park, and a corresponding increase following their reintroduction.

If the wolves continue to establish themselves in California, it could lead to a similarly positive outcome for the local environment.

Welcome back, wolves. Here's hoping you stick around.

Photo via the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Don't eat our cows, though.

Photo via stux/Pixabay.

Or we're going to have a problem.

Family

Help is on the way for a desperate mom who couldn't find size 23 shoes for her teenage son

Her son Eric Kilburn Jr. is a 6'10" freshman in high school.

via GoFundMe

A size 21 Nike shoe made for Tacko Fall.

A local reporter at Hometown Life shared a unique and heartfelt story on March 16 about a mother struggling to find shoes that fit her 14-year-old son. The story resonated with parents everywhere; now, her son is getting the help he desperately needs. It's a wonderful example of people helping a family that thought they had nowhere to turn.

When Eric Kilburn Jr. was born, his mother, Rebecca’s OBGYN, told her that he had the “biggest feet I’ve ever seen in my life. Do not go out and buy baby shoes because they’re not gonna fit,’” Rebecca told Today.com. Fourteen years later, it’s almost impossible to find shoes that fit the 6’10” freshman—he needs a size 23.

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parents
Joy

10 things that made us smile this week

Did someone order some mood-boosting serotonin?

@opiethepitbully/TikTok, @thedadsocial/Instagram

Upworthy's weekly roundup of joy

Spring has sprung, y'all! Officially on paper, at least. It's still flippin' cold and brown where I live, but we can see the daffodils stretching their way out of the ground and it won't be long before everything bursts into bloom.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Earth laughs in flowers." That feels true, doesn't it? These early days of spring are a bit like preparing to watch your favorite comedy, snuggled up on the couch with your people (or your cat), nummy snacks and comfy pants, smiling in anticipation because you know you're about to have some big laughs.

Hopefully, that's also how you feel jumping into these weekly roundups of joy, knowing you're about to get hit with some mood-boosting serotonin and cant-help-but-smile goodness. (That's how I feel each week pulling these lists together–it's like a little weekly smile therapy.)

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uplifting
Family

Korean mom has a perfect response to the teacher who called her son's lunches 'disgusting'

Good for her for standing up for her child's culture.

via Roman Harak/Flickr

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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parenting
Family

A research expert says dad jokes aren't just delightful, they're great for child development

Dads, you were right all along. 😂👍

via Pexels

Grandpa, dad and son take a funny photo.

What’s brown and sticky? A stick.

How do you get a country girl’s attention? A tractor.

My wife asked me to stop singing “Wonderwall” to her. I said maybe…

Dad jokes tend to be simple, inoffensive attempts at humor that are often puns and never funny. Except, of course, to the dad who tells them. But he usually gets more of a kick out of the embarrassment it caused his children than the joke itself.

According to a new essay, that’s the exact point.

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dads
Joy

Dog does the ‘pick a card’ challenge and we get to live the dream with him

Suddenly dogs everywhere need teddy bear robes.

Opie the Pit Bully|TikTok

Dog does the 'pick a card' challenge and it's adorable.

There are a few kinds of dog parents: ones that only have outside dogs, those who have inside dogs but they're absolutely not allowed on the furniture and dog parents who treat their dog as if they birthed them themselves and give them every luxury invented for four-legged fur children.

Clearly, people are going to have feelings one way or the other about dogs and their place within a household, but I think everyone can agree that seeing a dog be pampered will always be adorable. Opie the Pit Bully is one of those lucky doggos who wound up living in the lap of luxury, and the pooch got to do a "pick a card" day to showcase that his owner loves him the mostest.

In a video uploaded to TikTok by Opie's owner because...ya know, opposable thumbs and all…Opie is faced with two cards that he can't read: 1) because he's a dog, and 2) because the cards are facing toward the camera. That doesn't stop the sweet puppers from playing along, though.

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pick a card date night
Science

90-year-old tortoise is a hero to his species by becoming a first-time dad to 3 hatchlings

Way to go, daddio!

Photo by David Cadenas on Unsplash

What we imagine the look on Mr/ Pickles' face to be after becoming a dad.

It’s been an exciting time for a couple of tortoises at the Houston Zoo—and really, for tortoises everywhere.

The zoo announced on its blog that their oldest resident, Mr. Pickles, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise, and his 53-year-old companion Mrs. Pickles (that’s quite an age gap there sir, but no judgment) recently welcomed three new hatchlings.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better, here are the new baby names: Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeño.

Clearly, Jalepeño is the spicy one of the bunch.

While this news is certainly momentous for Mr. and Mrs. Pickles, it’s also a huge achievement for the entire species, which is currently critically endangered.
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animals & wildlife
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