California coyotes better watch out!

MarkBC

MarkBC

The Weatherman
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Bend, Oregon
"OR-7 heads into California -- the first wolf to return to the Golden State since 1924"

We've been watching this west-wandering wolf cross Oregon, from its home in northeast Oregon, over the past few months. Maybe he decided it was easier to head south than to cross west over the Siskiyous.

mn-graywolf30_GR.jpg


Yeah, wolves are somewhat controversial -- among cattle/sheep ranchers, anyway. California needs to establish another predator to keep the wolf population in natural balance, and I nominate grizzly bears. (grizzlies are on the CA flag, after all -- they belong there)
 
Maybe he'll make it all the way to sacatomatoes and get things sorted out there? There's more than a few there who should be thrown to the wolves....


Interesting though, any expert speculation on what has caused this migration?
 
Interesting though, any expert speculation on what has caused this migration?

Great question, but I haven't seen an explanation. I'm sure at least speculation (by professionals) must be out there.
Wolves are territorial, right? And young males of all species want to get away from domination of Mom & Dad. But you'd think that 100 miles of distance would have been plenty. So, yeah, why wander on for several hundred miles?

An interestingly similar animal wander occurred about 2 years ago when a mountain goat from northeast Oregon showed up in central Oregon, on the cliffs of Dry Canyon/Prehistoric River about 20 miles east of Bend. And this was way out of the range where mountain goats are found in Oregon. It may still be in the area. Earlier this year I saw it from the "Prehistoric River" viewpoint on Horse Ridge next to US 20.

BTW: WTW-member "Craggyman" was the first human to see and report this goat, which he spotted while hiking in the canyon...though he didn't receive credit in the press. He took a photo of the beast (in poor lighting and without telephoto) and sent it to me and a few others in the desert-lover community. One of those people went out there and took a better photo, and then the word spread.
 
"OR-7 has been elusive during his long trek, keeping away from people, and no photographs of him exist. Biologists fitted him with a GPS collar last February that periodically transmits his location."

Actually, they are tracking the GPS collar which was attached to the wolf known as OR-7. It's possible, (though, not probable) that OR-7's collar is no longer attached to said wolf. What if his collar is riding in the back of someone's pickup truck?
 
I'm waiting for the wolves to migrate into Mexico and have them complain about unwanted visitors, kinda like the wild hogs heading into Mexico from Texas. The comments the folks south of the border were making about the visitors was quite ironic.

Actually, they are tracking the GPS collar which was attached to the wolf known as OR-7. It's possible, (though, not probable) that OR-7's collar is no longer attached to said wolf. What if his collar is riding in the back of someone's pickup truck?


That would be a dumb hilly billy to be toting around evidence...
 
Lack of a mate in CA is likely to make him turn around fairly quickly. Unless he's heading down to SF :oops:
 
We just got back from a trip to the northewest. Had we known this, we would have stayed a night in the Klamath falls area on the way back.

California needs to establish another predator to keep the wolf population in natural balance, and I nominate grizzly bears.

Actually the wolves do a pretty good job of keeping there own numbers in check with all the fighting between packs. But this idea would save us a lot of money. We are averaging a trip a year to Yellowstone just to catch glimpses of wolves and grizzlies a mile away. That is a lot of gas money. And there are always crowds of others there for the same reason. Any CA wildlife management people paying attention? That is a lot of tourism dollars that could be brought into the state.
 
Fantastic-what a thrill to maybe hear a wolf howling out there! Hope our locals don't get gun happy and start banging away at it. I remember in the late 70's when the first elk started migrating into Modoc County and some of the locals going ballistic thinking the elk were going to eat all that good cattle food and were demanding we shoot them-We feds, the state, some ranchers and the county folks had to come up with all sorts of management plans to protect them and the other beasts out there, once we figured it weren't just a lost few elk coming into country, but because of the changing climate patterns (sort of like today), things out there were changing (plants, animals and water) and the elk were starting to follow traditional migration routes not used in thousands of years. You ask how we figured that out-well most of the locals, including the Indians all were saying no one that ever seen an elk around here and there were no real oral traditions for them either, so i (among others) was tasked to go through the whats called the archaeological and scientific record ( a summation of all the data {surveys, studies, excavations, reports, collections, etc) to see if there were any reports of elk bones in any of them and i did find sites were elk bone was found in the High Rock Area and in several other areas when the climate was less desert like a few thousand years ago; while our environmental folks were doing the same thing by tracking prehistoric veg/climate/animal migrations from then till now. All the data seemed to say that elk were once here and really were just returning to what they used to do! Actually felt like I did something important back then and I really enjoyed working on that project. Just hope these new folks out here are ready to do the same type of things if someone starts trying to kill that wolf before we find out why its here-and let it be-remember what happened to the wolf populations after the feds gave management back to those unnamed states northeast of here-bang, bang, bang.:eek:

Smoke
 
Thanks, Smoke, for the interesting description of your work. I didn't know the BLM did stuff like that.

And might I add to your final sentiments: Right on!! :)
 
Hope our locals don't get gun happy and start banging away at it.


The likelihood of that will depend on whether the wolves start killing off livestock, ranchers don't take too kindly to being robbed of their likelihood.
 
Interesting stuff, Smokecreek.


Yep, I lucked out, worked in what was ranked at one time as one of the top 3 BLM Districts for 25 years, half Ca and half Nevada and on the end of the food chain in both states-so we worked harder! We developed a team approach to everything and worked together to solve problems. Washington sent all the new stuff to us to see if they worked before they where implemented. Archaeology doesn't rank with cows, timber or minerals in most places, but in the old Susanville BLM District I (unlike most places) had a seat in the room and a say in all most decisions- but, by 2000, things changed and politics won out and my old district was no more and I was an area arck--lots of good memories, but we carried on the old traditions till 05/-06 when we started to retire as the pols and the "my way or the highway" types took over! Yep that young wolf is just like a young male Big Horn Sheep that joined a flock of sheep over in the Buffalo Hills/Dry Valley-BH sheep die when they get near sheep, but this one didn't and we keep suggesting we catch him and use him to find a cure so they could both exist at the same place-but the state wasn't interested in doing anything! Most people don't know that the state makes wildlife policies on fed land and the feds make the veg policies-and things get messed up fast. By the way, you could tell real easy when elk were in the area because they messed up the creek bottoms and unlike deer or pronghorns-they did not run, but charged when you walked up on them---and they do below or roar! By the way, an elk made it to just south of Smoke Creek Ranch Road and the Smoke Creek Desert-when a rancher shot it we think. Sorry, for getting carried away there, but i had a good career out there and hope it stays good out there:LOL:.Smoke
 
The likelihood of that will depend on whether the wolves start killing off livestock, ranchers don't take too kindly to being robbed of their likelihood.



It's interesting that in the yellowstone area where the wolves are out of the park,the ranchers are reimbursed for any livestock loss.In studies that I have read the wolves are not the main or only threat to livestock kill.The hunters/tourist get upset at the wolves because it's assumed that they kill the elk.There again in studies it seems that there are other animals that kill the elk,ie.bears and mountain lion.The wolf gets all the press for the kills when in fact they don't take that many.The blame on them comes because there are less elk for the tourist hunters.This is just IMO.I think that everyone can live together,wolves/cattle/sheep,and humans.

I hope OR7 lives out a good live and may be a mate will decided to take the trip he has.

Frank
 
It's interesting that in the yellowstone area where the wolves are out of the park,the ranchers are reimbursed for any livestock loss.In studies that I have read the wolves are not the main or only threat to livestock kill.The hunters/tourist get upset at the wolves because it's assumed that they kill the elk.There again in studies it seems that there are other animals that kill the elk,ie.bears and mountain lion.The wolf gets all the press for the kills when in fact they don't take that many.The blame on them comes because there are less elk for the tourist hunters.This is just IMO.I think that everyone can live together,wolves/cattle/sheep,and humans.

I hope OR7 lives out a good live and may be a mate will decided to take the trip he has.

Frank


Different wildlife management departments do better jobs than others at managing relations and reimbursement. In places were its a bureaucratic jump through the hoop game and hope to be approved for compensation relations are not as good. In WA the department of wildlife has historically pissed off many land owners when you talk to them in regards to trying to manage elk damage/compensation.

A distinction with bear and mountain lion is there are hunting seasons during which a person could legally dispatch of one if they felt the need, not so with wolves in many places (though some states have opened a season) which leaves people feeling like their hands are tied. Something western folk don't tend to care for.

As for Elk there is no arguing that the wolves have put a solid dent into the herd numbers in places like Idaho. The questions of whether that is an issue or not is another topic but the occurrence is happening.


Interesting subject all around.
 
I have to share this story . . .

I had dinner on New Year's Eve with a close friend and his neighbour. They both live in 'cottage country' in eastern Manitoba. Wolves are common here. If you travel in the back country, it is almost rare not to at least hear them at night and sightings are common. The neighbour, who isn't prone to exaggeration, tells this story and I believe him.

Last fall, he was doing a little clearing work on his favourite ski trail behind their home. He heard a loud crashing and saw a good sized whitetail buck coming full tilt towards him just a few feet off the trail. As it went by, he turned to see it go. When he turned around again, he only had a second to see a wolf coming straight towards him, obviously in hot pursuit of the buck. The wolf was so focused on the buck, he ignored the neighbour and actually hit him with his shoulder as he went by. Wolves get pretty big here and the shoulder hit him in the hip. In another second, the wolf was passed him still trying to chase down the buck-dinner. As the neighbour said: "If it hadn't happened so quickly, I might have had a chance to get worried".

An amazing story.

If you are thinking this is a yarn, here is a picture my friend sent me today when the black male showed up with his mate behind my fiends cottage.
 

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Dang! He crossed 44 right near some favorite campsites of ours and the last shown location is right where we camped on 139 on our way home last weekend. Just missed him. :mad:
 
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