Could California's only known wild wolf be headed back to its home state of Oregon?
The male gray wolf cataloged as OR7, who made headlines after ranging across much of Oregon and entering California on Dec. 28, 2011, is presently in southwest Modoc County, which borders Oregon and Nevada.
That's the farthest north he has been since last May.
OR7, which returned to Oregon briefly two months after first entering California, had spent the past several months in Plumas, Tehama and Lassen counties. His most southerly position was Butte County.
The wolf's collar is fitted with a GPS unit that allows scientists to track its whereabouts. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife issues daily updates and Thursday's placed the wolf in Modoc County.
During that May visit to Modoc County Richard Shinn, a DFW employee, captured the only known color image of OR7 (pictured top right).
The wolf is 4 years old and presumably searching for a mate. Perhaps his instincts are luring him back to a state that boasts an estimated minimum wolf population of 53, including seven packs and at least five breeding pairs.
OR7 hails from the Imnaha pack in northeast Oregon. His first entry into California was via Siskiyou County, just west of Modoc County.
You talk like this predator is a human or a family member. It's an ANIMAL! They do not think like us, they do not feel like us, they do not reason like us. They act on instinct. Eat, Sleep, Reproduce...
^^You think our world would exist without other animals? You talk like this predator is unnecessary or an expendable thing. You act on instinct; Eat, sleep, reproduce... You don't think, feel, or reason like me either. Should I not wish you well because I believe I am of a higher order than you? It's perfectly appropriate to pray for those things in our environment that make it viable for us. And, if you do a Google search on animals and thinking, feeling, and reasoning, I think you will find that it isn't as cut and dry as you believe it is. Don't be so hard.
Posted by: Jess | Mar 13, 2013 at 08:58 AM
"I Pray that you stay safe. I pray that you will find a mate and that you and you're family will prosper. My heart is with you OR7."
/\ You talk like this predator is a human or a family member. It's an ANIMAL! They do not think like us, they do not feel like us, they do not reason like us. They act on instinct. Eat, Sleep, Reproduce...
Posted by: Dominic | Mar 08, 2013 at 11:49 AM
Even watched from the Southern tip of Africa. May luck and prosperity be your companions.
Posted by: Lee | Mar 08, 2013 at 10:04 AM
Stay safe, OR-7. And stay the hell away from Idaho!
Posted by: Pete Braun | Mar 08, 2013 at 12:45 AM
I pray that you stay safe. I pray that you will find a mate and that you and you're family will prosper. My heart is with you OR7.
Posted by: Celia Kuhn | Mar 07, 2013 at 08:40 PM