The Trek of a Lone Wolf

"OR-7" sounds like it could be the name of a robot.
Or maybe a code name for a top-secret investigation.
But, no: OR-7 is the name of a history-making wolf.

Not gonna lie; this wolf makes me feel lazy.

OR-7, who has been dubbed "Journey," is the first wolf west of the Cascades since 1947.

In fact, he's gone all the way across Oregon from the northeast region of the state all the way to northern California. Recently, he has seemed to loop back around toward the Oregon border.

Problem is, Journey is not very welcome in California. The Siskiyou County Board of Directors are deciding whether or not to allow anyone who sees the wolf to kill it.



While Journey is more than likely just looking for a mate, hungry wolves are known to make prey of cattle. Cattlemen are not very sympathetic to anything that will destroy their livelihood, even if the wolf is making history.

OR-7's buddy OR-10 is not happy to see you.

Federal law does prohibit the shooting of wolves since they are endangered in California. And so far, nobody has accused Journey of killing their cattle.

OR-7 wears a radio monitor so his progress can be tracked daily. Several other members of his pack are also being monitored, but only a handful of the original 16 are still alive.

So what do you think should be done about Journey? He is being monitored; should he be tracked down and contained? Should he be put down before he causes any damage? Or, is it fine that he wanders, mateless and alone?

The way I figure, he hasn't done any harm, so he might as well be left alone. Wouldn't any of us want the same?

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via OregonWild.org, OregonLive.com, CaliforniaGrayWolf, and CA.gov