Zach Urness, Statesman Journal
These wolves grow up so fast.
After years of wandering over 1,200 miles through wilds of Oregon and California in search of a mate, the young wolf known as OR-7 is apparently putting down roots and leaving his bachelor days behind.
At least for the moment.
Wildlife biologists confirmed Wednesday morning that not only has OR-7 found at mate, but that the couple has two pups in southwest Oregon’s Cascade Range. It is likely there are more pups as wolf litters typically number four to six pups.
The pups mark the first known wolf reproduction in the Oregon Cascades since the mid-1940s.
“This is very exciting news,” said Paul Henson, state supervisor of the Oregon U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office. “It continues to illustrate that gray wolves are being recovered.”
In early May, biologists suspected that OR7, originally from northeast Oregon, had a mate in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest when remote cameras captured several images of what appeared to be a black female wolf in the same area.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) biologists returned to the area Monday, June 2 and observed two pups. Scat samples from the area have been collected and submitted to a laboratory for DNA analysis, which will take several weeks.
The story of OR-7 began in September 2011 when a young male wolf left his pack in northeast Oregon and made a journey over 1,200 miles into California to become the first free-roaming wolf in that state in almost 90 years.
He was fitted with a GPS collar and people have been following his story ever since.
One group, called the “Wild Peace Alliance,” was so inspired by OR-7 they’re recreating the 1,200 mile trek on foot and bikes to make a documentary.
“On hearing Wolf OR-7’s story we were inspired to bring awareness to the challenges posed by wolves returning to their ancient rangelands,” the group’s Facebook page says. “So in spring 2014, as a small Wild Peace Alliance expedition team, we will embark on an epic walk and mountain bike journey from northeast Oregon into northern California following the approximate GPS track of Wolf OR-7.”
Wolves throughout Oregon are protected by the state Endangered Species Act. Wolves west of Oregon Highways 395, 78 and 95 are also protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, with the Service as the lead management agency.
At the end of last year, there were 64 known wolves in Oregon. Most known wolves are in the northeast corner of the state.