Gray wolf crosses into California, first seen in state in 88 years

By Lisa M. Krieger lkrieger@mercurynews.com

A lone gray wolf has crossed the border into California, marking the return of a fabled creature that vanished from the state 88 years ago.

The young male, known as OR7, trotted from southern Oregon into the wilds of Siskiyou County on Wednesday night, California Department of Fish and Game officials said, citing satellite tracking data.

No one knows if he'll stay there in the forested buttes west of Lower Klamath Lake, or be joined by others. Perhaps he'll simply turn around and return north.

But his entry suggests that it may be just a matter of time before re-establishment in California of a species that has been revered, reviled and once hunted to near extinction. Wildlife officials already are preparing for how to handle the return of wild wolves, an event sure to inspire dread among ranchers fearful of losing stock to the predators.

"Whether one is for it or against it, the entry of this lone wolf into California is a historic event and result of much work by the wildlife agencies of the West," said fish and game Director Charlton H. Bonham. "If the gray wolf does establish a population in California, there will be much more work to do here."

The last confirmed wild gray wolf in California was killed in Lassen County in 1924. While they were widely distributed, they were never abundant. Any California wolf would be protected under the state's endangered species law.

OR7 -- a code that identifies the wolf's GPS

transmitter -- is a member of the so-called Imnaha pack, Oregon's oldest and largest. Wolves re-established in Oregon in 1999, and there is evidence that they are spreading across the state, possibly to start new packs elsewhere. Others have been seen in the region near Walla Walla, Wash., and Pendleton, Ore. His mother, in 2008, returned to Oregon after migrating from Idaho.

Wearing a GPS collar, OR7's wanderings have been closely tracked by biologists. He migrated 730 miles across Oregon over two months beginning last September. Over the past month, he's been in the Siskiyou National Forest, northeast of Medford. This week, he wandered south of the Oregon town of Keno, just 10 miles from the California border.

"He's doing what young males typically do -- they outgrow their pack and go out to find their own mate, to try to make a pack," said fish and game spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

Wolves have proved to be a resilient species, after nearly being extinguished by poisoning, trapping and shooting.

The re-emergence of wolves in the Rocky Mountain West has been an unexpected success. They started to move back into northern Montana from Canada in the 1980s. Then, in a re-establishment program, the U.S. government introduced 65 Canadian wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, after elk herds were destroying large tracts of vegetation.

To the surprise of federal experts, the wolves hit population targets in just seven years -- and spread. Wolf population has now reached about 1,600 across the Rocky Mountain region, with about a hundred breeding pairs. Legal wolf hunts began in Idaho and Montana.

But the wolf hunts have been controversial. In Oregon, which permits wolves to be killed if they attack livestock, two wolves from OR7's pack were killed this year. Kill orders for two more were issued after they were blamed for killing a calf, but were stayed after challenges from wildlife advocates.

If wolves gain a foothold in California, "We are concerned about a clash between wolves and livestock," said Jack King of the California Farm Bureau Federation. "We've been watching the advance very closely. Now it's come to our door stoop."

"It is a matter of numbers, and how aggressive the wolves become, that determines how much of a problem it becomes," he continued. "What forms of relief will be available to livestock producers, as restitution for losses?"

But Patrick Valentino of the San Francisco-based California Wolf Center called the wolf's arrival "great news" and "an opportunity for California to recover a top predator."

"The question is: What happens next?" Valentino asked. "Will they return? If it's up to wolves, the answer is yes. But it's up to people. Will we accept them?"

Contact Lisa M. Krieger at 408-920-5565.

Species At a glance
Gray wolves are the largest member of the canine family that includes domestic dogs, and can be gray, black or white in color.
Height: 26-32 inches at shoulder
Length: 4.5 to 6.5 feet, nose to tail
Weight: 55 to 130 pounds; males are larger than females
Life span: 7-8 years in the wild; captives have lived 10 years or more

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/education/ci_19643821?source=rss

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