By Richard Cockle, The Oregonian
JOSEPH — Oregon may have more gray wolves than anyone guessed — and more are coming. A trail camera has photographed a lactating female wolf in the Eagle Cap Wilderness straddling Wallowa, Baker and Union counties.
The image was captured June 4 on a camera placed by a research biologist as part of another wildlife research project, said Michelle Dennehy, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The wolf wasn’t in an area of the rugged, 560-square-mile wilderness where wildlife officials had tracked previous wolf activity, she said. The photo shows that reproduction occurred, but the current location and number of wolves and pups is unknown, Dennehy said.
Biologists believe Oregon has 28 adult gray wolves in the Imnaha, Wenaha, Walla Walla and Snake River packs, including two adults in the Mount Emily Game Management Unit between Pendleton and La Grande, all in eastern Oregon. In addition, the Wenaha and Imnaha packs recently produced four pups each, and the pair of wolves in the Mt. Emily Unit may have produced pups as well, she said.