Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

…to Oregon!

Back on January 5, I wrote about the lone gray wolf, designated OR7, that crossed from Oregon into California and, in doing so, became the first wolf recorded in California since 1924. The young male wolf had been called “Journey” by a conservation group. On Thursday, OR7 crossed the border back into Oregon, after having logged almost 1,000 miles (by GPS) in three northern California counties, crossing highways, pine forests, scrubland, and even ancient lava flows.

Biologists say that OR7 was doing what young male wolves do: set out on their own to find a mate, establish a new pack, or perhaps join another one. Since OR7 was the first wolf recorded in California since 1924, WHAT ARE THE ODDS? At midnight, GPS placed him in Jackson County, Oregon! One tweet on Twitter claimed that he returned because Oregon has no sales tax! (MY county in California, Alameda, has 9.25% sales tax!)

‘Since he left his home pack in northeastern Oregon in September, OR7 has traveled more than 2,000 miles as measured in straight lines on a map — meaning that, in actuality, he has covered far more ground. “Just incredible,” Kovacs <Karen Kovacs, a wildlife program manager for the California Department of Fish and Game> said.’

OR7 roamed through Siskiyou, Shasta, and Lassen counties in California!

Although there are no confirmed photos of OR7 in California, Fish and Game believes that one person, and possibly two, photographed his saucer-sized paw prints, and another two may have caught a brief glimpse of the wolf. While in California, OR7 ate only wild food and was not connected to any losses of livestock. Biologist found evidence that OR7 had dined on deer carcasses.

Hunted, trapped and poisoned, gray wolves disappeared from California nearly 90 years ago. After they were successfully reintroduced to the northern Rockies in the 1990s and started spreading West, biologists say, it was just a matter of time before one showed up in California. But it could be years before the state can boast an established pack.

-Bill at

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