In late September, California wildlife officials received three reports of gray wolf sightings in Ventura County - one county up the coast from Los Angeles near the Los Padres National Forest. staff then found recent wolf tracks in the same area.
The wolf is believed to be OR-93, a 2-year-old male from the White River pack, whose territory covers part of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation near Mount Hood.
鈥淚f this is OR-93, he鈥檚 traveled the farthest south we鈥檝e seen since 1922 when one was captured in San Bernardino,鈥� said Jordan Traverso, a spokesperson for the California wildlife agency.
The Ventura County reports indicated the wolf was wearing a purple collar. OR-93 was fitted with a purple tracking collar last summer before he dispersed south. That collar stopped transmitting in April from an area a little farther north in California.
鈥淔or the most part, he鈥檚 been鈥� staying away from any kind of city centers. However, he did cross over Highway 99 and Interstate 5, and both of those are major artery freeways in our state,鈥� she said.
OR-93 traveled through 16 California counties before his collar went silent. Traverso says it鈥檚 鈥減robable鈥� that the wolf sighted is OR-93, but the agency won鈥檛 know for sure without forensic evidence.
鈥淚f this wolf is in Ventura County, you鈥檙e starting to get closer into the Santa Barbara area. But this is the northern (part of the county). It鈥檚 very rural. It鈥檚 not like he鈥檚 at the beach with a whole bunch of people or anything like that,鈥� Traverso said.
Just as in Oregon, opinion is divided on the issues of allowing wolves to expand into California, reviving the species there a century after wolves were extirpated. Livestock producers are a strong voice of opposition.
Oregon removed gray wolves from its endangered species list in 2015. The Trump administration removed federal endangered species status last January. But wolves are still protected as an endangered species at the state level in California. All of California was historically gray wolf habitat.
鈥淚f you would have asked me even just a few years ago if I thought gray wolves would ever make it to Ventura County, I would have said 鈥榊ou鈥檙e crazy!鈥� said Pamela Flick, California program director for. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 indicative of the fact that California has plentiful suitable habitat for wolves.鈥�
Defenders of Wildlife has been pressing the Biden administration to restore federal protections for gray wolves.
It鈥檚 common for young wolves to leave their home packs to find mates or look for food. They often travel long distances during these dispersals.
Oregon鈥檚 original famous wandering wolf, OR-7, from the Wallowa Mountains in northeast Oregon, down into California in 2011. The wolf eventually found a mate and established the Rogue Pack in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon.
But OR-93鈥瞫 journey has been even further than that. California officials estimate that OR-93 has traveled about 1000 miles (as the crow flies) on its journey from northern Oregon to Southern California.
鈥淚f one wolf could get down there, then that means that it鈥檚 possible, and other could be too. So it鈥檚 not out of the realm of possibility that he could find a mate,鈥� Traverso said.
While Oregon has, California 鈥� all in the northern part of the state and all with some link to Oregon鈥檚.
Traverso says CAFW wants to trap and re-collar OR-93 so they can resume monitoring its travels but says without additional sightings that indicate the wolf鈥檚 current location, it鈥檚 not really feasible.
Copyright 2021 Oregon Public Broadcasting
