By Richard Cockle, The Oregonian
JOSEPH — A young, female gray wolf in northeastern Oregon’s Wallowa County has a sore paw and a new radio collar after being caught in a trap.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that the 76-pound Imnaha pack wolf was inadvertently captured Tuesday by a local trapper, who notified the agency. Biologists were able to collar and then safely release the wolf, now identified as OR17, and said she was in good condition.
Under Oregon Furbearer regulations, trappers are required to contact ODFW biologists immediately when a wolf or other endangered animal is trapped.
Separately, biologists reported that genetic evidence from scats collected in January show that gray wolves in the Minam and Upper Minam River packs actually belong to a single pack. Based on the new information, the agency has revised its Oregon wolf census to six known wolf packs, all of which have breeding pairs, and a total of 46 wolves.
That’s a downward revision from January, when the agency reported that Oregon’s minimum gray wolf count was 53, in seven packs with five breeding pairs. At that time, biologists believed the Upper Minam River pack consisted of 7 wolves and the Minam pack had five wolves.