The wolves in this story
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Wolves return to Oregon
By the mid-1940s, wolves had been wiped out in Oregon. But thanks to a heroic effort in 1995 and 1996 to reintroduce 66 wolves from Canada to Yellowstone and central Idaho, wolves would again make their way back.
B-300: The pioneer
Descending from the wolves reintroduced to central Idaho in 1995-1996, B-300 was the 300th wolf in Idaho to be radio-collared by biologists, receiving her collar in 2006. Young wolves regularly disperse from their birth packs to find a mate and establish a territory of their own, much like children leaving home to make their way in the world. When B-300 left her Timberline pack, she traveled over 100 miles west, crossing the Snake River into Oregon, where she was observed in 2008.
The Imnaha pack
An uncollared male wolf, who had also dispersed from Idaho into Oregon, paired with B-300, and they and started a family in the Wallowa Mountains in the northeast corner of the state. Their Imnaha pack became the first wild wolf pack to call Oregon home in over 50 years. Idaho biologists fitted B-300 with a new radio collar, and she became known as OR-2, designating her as the second wolf radio-collared in Oregon. Her mate was fitted with a radio collar in 2010 and he became known as OR-4. Their son OR-7 was born in the couple’s second litter.
OR7 courtesy of USFWS (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/14005300519/) is licensed under CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/)
OR-7s epic journey
When OR-7 was 2.5 years old, he too was ready to search for a mate and establish territory. Like his parents before him, pioneers of wolf recovery into Oregon, OR-7 would pioneer wolf recovery into California. In September 2011, OR-7 left his Imnaha pack on what would become an epic journey. Although more than a decade had passed since wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone and central Idaho, only 21 wild wolves were known to roam Oregon when OR-7 set out to find a mate.
The brave wolf charted a path across dangerous highways and wilderness that had not been treaded by any wolf in almost a century. On Dec. 28, 2011, OR-7 set paw in California and made history as the first known wild wolf in the state since 1924. His arrival put a face on wolf recovery in the Pacific Northwest and spurred California to develop wolf management plans that protected gray wolves under the California Endangered Species Act.
OR-7 was dubbed "Journey" in a naming contest sponsored by Oregon Wild. An international celebrity, fans worldwide followed his travels and cheered for a happy ending. Along the way, we realized that like him, we must never give up the fight.
OR7 on October 23, 2016/ODFW
Establishing the Rogue pack
Between 2011-2014, OR-7 continued his journey, traveling back and forth across the border of Oregon and California, eventually finding a mate, establishing a pack, and producing pups in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest in southwestern Oregon. His Rogue pack is celebrated as the first wolf pack in western Oregon since wolves were eradicated in the 1940s.
RoguePack_pups_7-12-16/ODFW
The legacy continues
In Spring 2020, biologists observed OR-7's mate and other members of the Rogue pack; however, OR-7 was absent. At 11 years old, he had already exceeded the age of most wild wolves and is presumed to have passed. OR-7's legacy lives on through his descendants, including a son who founded California's Lassen pack, a daughter who traveled over 8,000 miles after leaving her pack in search of a mate and territory of her own, and others who continue to put new paw prints on uncharted soil.
