Endangered Gray Wolf That Traveled 8,700 Miles to Find a Mate, Found Dead

OR-54 is seen in a photo released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Oct. 13, 2017, shortly after she was collared.

An endangered female gray wolf that made a meandering 8,700-mile journey around three states looking for a mate was found dead in Northern California this week, wildlife officials say.

OR-54. as the wolf was known to wildlife biologists, was three or four years old and tracked by scientists and environmentalist thanks to a radio collar that had been attached to her neck. On Wednesday, the wolf was found dead in Shasta County, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced in a statement.

It's unclear whether OR-54 died from an accident, natural causes, or had become the second wolf to be killed by a poacher in California. It's illegal in California to shoot, injure, or kill gray wolves. Poachers can be subject to federal penalties of up to a year in prison and a 100,000 fine.

Another collared wolf was discovered shot dead in Northern California in 2018. That case is still unsolved. Fewer than a dozen wolves are estimated to remain in the state, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. The species was eradicated in California due to concerns over the wolves' threat to livestock. It wasn't until a wolf from Oregon, known as OR-7, traveled to California becoming the first wolf to return to the state in more than 90 years.

OR-7 returned to Oregon where he started what's known as the Rouge Pack, where OR-54 was born.

OR-54's journey to find a mate was chronicled by wildlife biologists after they captured the wolf and put a GPS-tracking collar around her neck. The number 54 indicates that she was the 54th wolf to have been tracked in Oregon. Over the next few years, OR-54 journeyed farther south than any of the other wolves that have settled or been born in Northern California. The wolf was also found to have traveled through Nevada and back to Oregon, staying mostly in California and roaming through Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama counties.

She averaged about 13 miles per day, traveling an incredible 8,712 miles overall since scientists began tracking her, however, the lone wolf never succeeded in finding a mate.

“This is a tragic development for the early stages of wolf recovery in California,” said Amaroq Weiss, a West Coast wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Like her dad, the famous wolf OR-7 who came to California years ago, OR-54 was a beacon of hope who showed that wolves can return and flourish here. Her death is devastating, no matter the cause.”

Photo: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife


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