On or around January 24, a gray wolf wearing a GPS tracking collar crossed the Oregon-California state line in eastern Siskiyou County. Dubbed OR-54, the young female is a member of the Oregon’s Rogue pack, which utilizes portions of Jackson and Klamath counties. She was trapped and collared by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) biologists in October. At that time, she weighed 83 pounds. Her departure from the pack’s territory suggests that she may now be dispersing, or exploring new ground in search of a mate or another pack.
OR-54 was likely sired by OR-7, the famous wolf that traveled widely in northern California in 2012 and 2013 before returning to Oregon, finding a mate, and establishing the Rogue pack. OR-54 is the fourth Rogue pack wolf known to have spent time in California.
CDFW wolf managers are in close communication with their ODFW counterparts, and ODFW is sharing OR-54’s location data with CDFW. CDFW will closely monitor her locations as long as she remains in California.