A wolf pup has been spotted near Rome for the first time in more than a century according to a local wildlife protection group.
The pup was spotted on a camera earlier this month, which was set up in Oasi Lipu, a nature reserve located just outside the Italian capital.
The video shows one of at least two young pups born at the park earlier this year approach the camera, before being spooked and running away.
It’s a significant sighting for experts, as the Italian wolf remains extremely vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature‘s list of threatened species.
Researchers believe there are up to 2,000 wolves currently living in Italy, but that number dwindled to just 100 by 1970 due to hunting and human interaction.
A spokesperson for Oasi Lipu told local media adult wolves were first spotted in the park near Rome in 2013.
The adult male wolf was named Romulus in reference to Rome’s creation.
According to Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus, sons of the war god Mars, were ordered to be drowned in the Tiber River. But the basket the twin brothers were placed in floated downriver and came ashore where Rome currently stands. A she-wolf discovered the brothers and reared them with her milk until the boys were found by a herdsman.
The boys would go on to build the city, which was named Rome, after Romulus killed his brother.
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