|
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION
|
Collared gray wolf OR-54 is back in Oregon after a nearly two-month foray into California, and she could again be working for Da Man, giving up the Rogue Pack’s whereabouts if she hooks back up with her former pack as suspected.
One of the daughters of Rogue Pack patriarch OR-7, the 2-year-old female apparently gave up looking for a mate in Northern California last week and returned to southwest Jackson County, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.“ When she decided to come back, she beelined her way back here,” says Steve Niemela, ODFW’s Rogue District wildlife biologist.
ODFW wolf experts say the timing coincides with when she likely was in heat and in search of a male with which to mate, Niemela says. She likely returned after her potential time for successful mating lapsed, Niemela says.If she returns to the Rogue Pack, her GPS collar will once again allow state and federal biologists follow their whereabouts in their normal home range in eastern Jackson and western Klamath counties.