Will Kane
The lone wolf who wandered into California late last year before heading home to Oregon has come back to California.
The gray wolf’s return to the Golden State isn’t unexpected, state officials said. In fact, he could go back and forth across the border many more times before settling down.
“Round and round he goes, where he ends up no one knows,” said Kirsten Macintyre, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Fish and Game. “At this point we know only where his little blip is, nothing about what he’s going to do.”
OR7, also known as Journey, left his Oregon home back in September and traveled more than 1,000 miles to California’s northern border. He entered Siskiyou County on Dec. 28, becoming the first known wild wolf in California in 88 years.
The radio-collared wolf spent two months in Siskiyou, Shasta and Lassen counties, and his whereabouts have been tracked by wildlife managers in Oregon and California. The wolf’s behavior – leaving his pack in Oregon – is typical, and wildlife officials said he is likely searching for a mate to start his own pack.
He returned to Oregon around noon last Thursday before coming back to California on Saturday, officials said Monday.
Environmentalists celebrated Journey’s presence in California while hunters and ranchers worried that wolves could hunt cattle or destroy game.
Learn more about the wolf
— The only known video of the wolf known as OR7 can be seen at sfg.ly/yqdOBb.
— Information about gray wolves can be found at www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves.
— The meanderings of OR7 can be followed at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf.