OR-7

Wolves in the United States were protected under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1978 as they were in danger of going extinct and needed protection to aid their recovery.{{Cite news |date = 2020-10-29 |title = Gray Wolves To Be Removed From Endangered Species List |url = https://www.wuwm.com/environment/2020-10-29/gray-wolves-to-be-removed-from-endangered-species-list |first = Nathan |last = Rott |access-date = 2021-04-21 |publisher = WUWM |location = Milwaukee |language = en }} Wolves were reintroduced to Idaho and expanded their range into the northern Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest.{{Cite news|last=Skene|first=Jennifer|date=February 6, 2012|title=California's Gray Wolves|url=https://www.kqed.org/quest/30289/california%e2%80%99s-gray-wolves|access-date=2021-05-15|work=KQED|language=en-us}} When wolves began swimming the Snake River from Idaho to Oregon in the 1990s, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) started live-trapping the growing wolf population in Oregon and fitting them with GPS tracking collars that provide daily satellite position reports. State biologists gave a sequential designation to each wolf with a collar.{{Cite news|last=Barnard|first=Jeff |agency=The Associated Press|date=May 31, 2014|title=2 wolves in northeast Oregon fitted with tracking collars|url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/nation/2-wolves-in-northeast-oregon-fitted-with-tracking-collars/article_002606d7-e44a-50eb-8ac8-d116de0d9be5.html|access-date=2021-03-05|work=The Bulletin (Bend)|language=en}} The vast majority remain clustered in their historic range in the northeast corner of the state, where the forests between the high mountains and populated areas are full of elk and deer.{{Cite news|last=LeGue|first=Chandra|date=February 27, 2020|title=The Eastern Forests are Calling|url=https://www.eugeneweekly.com/2020/02/27/the-eastern-forests-are-calling/|access-date=2021-03-06|work=Eugene Weekly|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last=Urness|first=Zach|date=June 5, 2019|title=Oregon wolf plan updated, detailing when wolves can be killed|url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2019/06/05/oregon-wolf-plan-hunting-vote-odfw-commission-oregon-department-of-fish-and-wildlife-wolves/1342403001/|access-date=2021-03-05|work=Statesman Journal|language=en-US}} In 2010, state biologists noticed wolves in the Cascade Range but were unable to determine if they were single dispersing animals wandering through or were starting to occupy the area. Individual wolves will roam, searching for a mate and new territory.{{Cite news|last=Barnard|first=Jeff |agency=Associated Press|date=January 18, 2010|title=Cascade wolf sightings increase|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jan/18/cascade-wolf-sightings-increase/|access-date=2021-03-06|work=The Spokesman-Review}} In February 2011, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife attached radio collars to several wolves in the Imnaha Pack in northeastern Oregon to allow study of their migration.{{cite web|title=Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan 2011 Annual Report|url=http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/docs/oregon_wolf_program/2011_Wolf_Conservation_Management_Plan_Annual_Report.pdf|access-date=March 28, 2012|publisher=Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906085429/http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/docs/oregon_wolf_program/2011_Wolf_Conservation_Management_Plan_Annual_Report.pdf|archive-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=live}} The pack was Oregon's first since wolves returned to the state.{{cite news |url= http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/02/male_wolf_from_imnaha_pack_kil.html |title= Male Wolf OR-9 from Imnaha Pack Killed by Idaho Hunter with Expired Tag |author= Cockle, Richard |date= February 12, 2012 |newspaper= The Oregonian |access-date= March 28, 2012 |publisher= Advance Publications |issn= 8750-1317 |location= Portland, Oregon |archive-date= April 24, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120424171209/http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/02/male_wolf_from_imnaha_pack_kil.html |url-status= live }} The wolves were numbered; one of them, a year-old male from the pack's second litter,{{Cite book|title=Journey: the amazing story of OR-7, the Oregon wolf that made history|last=Beckie|first=Elgin|date=6 October 2016|publisher=Inkwater Press |isbn=9781629013992|oclc=967267608}} was given the code OR-7 as the seventh wolf to be collared.{{cite news|last=Nesbitt|first=Katy|title=Wandering Wolf Back in Oregon|url=http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Wandering-wolf-back-in-Oregon|date=March 5, 2012|newspaper= The Observer |access-date=March 28, 2012|oclc=30722076|location=La Grande, Oregon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215071957/http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Wandering-wolf-back-in-Oregon|archive-date=December 15, 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120223/NEWS/202230320|title=Wandering Wolf OR-7 Moves Within 10 Miles of Oregon|author=Freeman, Mark|date=February 23, 2012|access-date=March 28, 2012|work=Mail Tribune|location=Medford, Oregon|publisher=Dow Jones Local Media Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115555/http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20120223%2FNEWS%2F202230320|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=live}}

Image:OR-7 wolf journey.png

As is common for non-dominant wolf males, OR-7 left the Imnaha Pack in the Wallowa Mountains near Joseph in September 2011, presumably in search of a mate.{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/03/or-7_returns_to_oregon_apparen.html|title=OR-7 Returns to Oregon Apparently Still Looking for Love|first=Richard|last=Cockle|date=March 2, 2012|access-date=March 29, 2012|newspaper=The Oregonian|via=Oregon Live|archive-date=March 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305211148/http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/03/or-7_returns_to_oregon_apparen.html|url-status=live}} In November, he became the first wolf detected in western Oregon in more than 60 years when he was photographed east of Butte Falls by an automatic trail camera. This marked the first known wild wolf presence in southwestern Oregon since 1946.

The wolf crossed the border into northern California in late December, becoming the first documented wolf in the state since 1924.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/01/18/california-welcomes-wild-wolf-for-first-time-in-87-years/|title=California Welcomes Wild Wolf for First time in 87 Years|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|first=Renee|last=Lee|date=January 18, 2012|access-date=March 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926224510/https://blogs.usda.gov/2012/01/18/california-welcomes-wild-wolf-for-first-time-in-87-years/|archive-date=September 26, 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/02/BA7T1NFBS9.DTL|title=California Wolf Is Back in Oregon|first=Will|last=Kane|date=March 3, 2012|access-date=March 29, 2012|work=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Corporation|issn=1932-8672|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311052114/http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-wolf-is-back-in-Oregon-3377534.php|archive-date=March 11, 2016|url-status=live}} OR-7 remained in California, trekking through Siskiyou, Shasta and Lassen counties until heading north to Klamath County, Oregon, in March 2012. OR-7 soon made his way to Jackson County. By then the wolf had traveled more than {{convert|1000|mi|km}}.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wolf-california-20120303,0,6719205.story|title=Wandering Gray Wolf Leaves California, Returns to Oregon|first=Bettina|last=Boxall|date=March 3, 2012|access-date=March 29, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|issn=0458-3035|oclc=3638237|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311162957/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wolf-california-20120303,0,6719205.story|archive-date=March 11, 2012|url-status=dead}} OR-7 returned to California, spending the summer in the Plumas National Forest south of Mount Lassen, and as of December 2012 had migrated to near Lake Almanor.{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/12/or-7s_biological_clock_ticking.html|title=OR-7's Biological Clock Ticking As He Moves to Lower Ground for Winter|last=Cockle|first=Richard|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=December 7, 2012|access-date=December 7, 2012|archive-date=December 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213203448/http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/12/or-7s_biological_clock_ticking.html|url-status=live}} He returned to Oregon in March 2013.

OR-7's migration captured the attention of viewers around the world after the story "went viral" in early December 2011. In 2012, OR-7 was named "Journey" through an art and naming competition for children sponsored by the non-profit group Oregon Wild.{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonwild.org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/the-journey-of-or7|title=Don't Stop Believing...The Journey of OR-7|access-date=March 28, 2012|publisher=Oregon Wild|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221053858/http://www.oregonwild.org/wildlife/wolves/the-journey-of-or7|archive-date=December 21, 2016|url-status=live}} The conservation group acknowledged that the naming contest "was part of an effort to make the wolf too famous to kill". Steve Pedery, conservation director of Oregon Wild, said of the wolf: "Journey is the most famous wolf in the world. It is not surprising that the paparazzi finally caught up with him."

File:OR7+pups1.jpg

In May 2014, remote cameras in the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest captured photographs of OR-7 along with a female wolf who might have mated with him. A month later, biologists from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the ODFW returned to southwest Oregon, photographed two wolf pups, and took fecal samples for DNA testing to determine the relationship of the pups to OR-7.{{cite news|last=Swart|first=Cornelius|title=Biologists Think Wolf OR-7 Has Pups in S. Ore.|url=http://www.kgw.com/news/OR-7-has-wolf-pups-in-Rogue-River-Siskiyou-261842831.html|publisher=KGW|date=June 4, 2014|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805200121/http://www.kgw.com/news/OR-7-has-wolf-pups-in-Rogue-River-Siskiyou-261842831.html|archive-date=August 5, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/05/oregon_wolf_or-7_finds_a_mate.html|title=Oregon Wolf OR-7 Appears to Have Found a Mate After 3-Year Journey|date=May 12, 2014|last=Terry|first=Lynne|access-date=May 13, 2014|newspaper=The Oregonian|archive-date=May 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514132752/http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/05/oregon_wolf_or-7_finds_a_mate.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|author=La Ganga, Maria L.|date=May 14, 2014|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-oregon-or7-wolf-mate-20140513-story.html#page=1|title=OR7, The Wandering Wolf, Looks for Love in All the Right Places|work=Los Angeles Times|issn=0458-3035|oclc=3638237|access-date=May 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202122312/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-oregon-or7-wolf-mate-20140513-story.html|archive-date=December 2, 2015|url-status=live}} By September, tests run at the University of Idaho confirmed that OR-7's mate is a wolf, that the two pups are their offspring, and that the mate is related to the wolves in the Minam and Snake River packs of northeastern Oregon.{{cite web|title=Wolf Program Updates|publisher=Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife|url=http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/wolf_program_updates.asp|date=January 13, 2015|access-date=January 14, 2015|archive-date=January 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129103159/http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/wolf_program_updates.asp|url-status=live}}

The birth of wolf pups so close to the state border raised the probability of a future long-term wolf population in California. In June 2014, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 3–1 to protect those wolves under the state Endangered Species Act.{{cite news|last=Weiser|first=Matt|title=Meet Wolf OR7's New Pups; California Moves to Protect Species|work=The Sacramento Bee|url=http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/04/6457645/confirmed-wolf-or7-has-pups-in.html|date=June 4, 2014|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226192043/http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article2600532.html|archive-date=December 26, 2016|url-status=live}}

The adult wolves and their pups remained east of Medford in the Rogue River watershed, and in early 2015 officials named the group the Rogue Pack, the ninth contemporary wolf pack in Oregon.{{cite news|last=Barnard|first=Jeff|agency=Associated Press|title=Oregon's Wandering Wolf, OR-7, Gets Official Pack Status|work=KVAL|date=January 8, 2015|publisher=Sinclair Media Group|url=http://kval.com/outdoors/rogue-pack-new-designation-for-wandering-wolf-or-7-and-family-11-12-2015|access-date=January 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116175247/http://kval.com/outdoors/rogue-pack-new-designation-for-wandering-wolf-or-7-and-family-11-12-2015|archive-date=January 16, 2017|url-status=live}} By July, wildlife biologists found evidence that OR-7 and his mate had produced a second litter of pups.{{cite news|author=House, Kelly|title=OR-7 and His Mate Raise More Pups|newspaper=The Oregonian|page=A4|date=July 8, 2015}} A month later, trail cameras identified two new pups, bringing the known total of wolves in this pack to seven.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Oregon's Famed OR-7 Adds at Least 2 Pups to Its Pack|newspaper=The Oregonian|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/08/oregons_famed_or-7_adds_at_lea.html|date=August 6, 2015|access-date=August 7, 2015|archive-date=August 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810021733/http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/08/oregons_famed_or-7_adds_at_lea.html|url-status=live}} By 2016, the pack size had grown to nine.{{cite news|title=Wolf Pack Grows As OR-7 Slows Down|url=http://www.dailytidings.com/news/20160801/wolf-pack-grows-as-or-7-slows-down|newspaper=Daily Tidings|date=August 1, 2016|access-date=October 8, 2016|archive-date=October 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008000800/http://www.dailytidings.com/news/20160801/wolf-pack-grows-as-or-7-slows-down|url-status=live}}

The batteries in OR–7's GPS tracking unit expired in October 2015. Officials decided to replace the collar in order to keep track of the pack, which is protected under Oregon law and the federal Endangered Species Act. However, attempts to trap OR-7 or other members of the pack failed, and further tracking of OR-7 depended on trail cameras and live sightings.{{cite news|title=GPS Collar Stops Tracking Oregon's OR-7 Wolf|work=The Oregonian|page=A5|date=October 31, 2015}} A trail camera in the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest captured an image of OR-7 and one of his offspring in early 2016.{{cite news|title=Newsmaker: OR-7|work=The Oregonian|page=A5|date=April 8, 2006}} After four steers were killed by wolves in Wood River Valley in western Klamath County (immediately east of Jackson County) near where OR–7 was last seen, biologists said efforts to trap and re-collar the wolf would likely resume and that tracking could alert ranchers concerned about their livestock.{{cite news|url=http://www.mailtribune.com/news/20161104/feds-try-to-collar-or-7-again|title=Feds Try to Collar OR-7 Again|first=Mark|last=Freeman|newspaper=Mail Tribune|date=November 4, 2016|access-date=November 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115232250/http://www.mailtribune.com/news/20161104/feds-try-to-collar-or-7-again|archive-date=January 15, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Hernandez|first=Tony|work=The Oregonian|title=OR-7's Pack Suspected in 3 Attacks on Cattle|date=October 12, 2016|page=A12}} On October 3, 2017, biologists caught and collared OR-54, another Rogue Pack wolf, thought to be OR-7's daughter, traveling with the pack in Wood River Valley.{{cite news|title=Daughter of Oregon Wolf OR-7 Fit with GPS Collar|publisher=KGW-TV|agency=Associated Press|date=October 16, 2017|url=http://www.kgw.com/news/local/animal/odfw-biologists-fit-daughter-of-famous-or-7-gray-wolf-with-gps-collar/483749710|access-date=October 18, 2017|archive-date=October 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019003953/http://www.kgw.com/news/local/animal/odfw-biologists-fit-daughter-of-famous-or-7-gray-wolf-with-gps-collar/483749710|url-status=live}} In lieu of another tracking device on OR-7, the collar on OR-54 would allow officials to track the movements and behaviors of the pack.{{cite news|last=Theen|first=Andrew|title=New Rogue Pack Wolf Collared|newspaper=The Oregonian|page=A2|date=October 14, 2017}} OR-54 was then found dead on February 5, 2020, in Shasta County.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-06/endangered-gray-wolf-found-dead-in-northern-california|title=Endangered gray wolf is found dead in Northern California|date=2020-02-07|agency=Associated Press|via=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-07|archive-date=2020-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207030549/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-06/endangered-gray-wolf-found-dead-in-northern-california|url-status=live}}

OR-7 was seen in Oregon in fall 2019 but was not found at the state count of wolves the following winter, and {{As of|2020|04|lc=y}} is presumed to have died at about 11 years old, an advanced age for a wild wolf.{{cite news |first=Suzanne |last=Espinosa Solis |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/California-s-celebrated-gray-wolf-OR-7-15204114.php |title=California's celebrated gray wolf, OR-7, presumed dead |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=April 15, 2020 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416112826/https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/California-s-celebrated-gray-wolf-OR-7-15204114.php |url-status=live }}{{cite news | url = https://www.kptv.com/news/wandering-wolf-that-captivated-the-world-is-believed-dead/article_4face939-c39e-51df-b1d5-fc135836be01.html | title = Wandering wolf that captivated the world is believed dead | date = April 16, 2020 | first = Andrew | last = Selsky | publisher = KPTV | access-date = April 16, 2020 | archive-date = April 20, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200420102137/https://www.kptv.com/news/wandering-wolf-that-captivated-the-world-is-believed-dead/article_4face939-c39e-51df-b1d5-fc135836be01.html | url-status = live }}

Since 2015, wolves outside the Rogue Pack have also migrated to western Oregon. These include what officials have termed the "Keno Pair" near Keno, further south in Klamath County, and the "Silver Lake Wolves" in Lake County.{{cite news|last=House|first=Kelly|title=Another Wolf Spotted in S. Oregon|newspaper=The Oregonian|page=A9|date=January 14, 2015}}{{cite web|title=Areas of Known Wolf Activity – 2015|url=http://dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/population.asp|publisher=Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife|access-date=January 15, 2017|archive-date=February 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201132532/http://dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/population.asp|url-status=live}} The Oregon wolf population reached an estimated minimum of 110 in 2015,{{cite web|title=Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management: 2015 Annual Report|url=http://dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/docs/oregon_wolf_program/2015_Annual_Wolf_Report_3-18-16_FINAL.pdf|publisher=Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife|pages=2–5|access-date=April 8, 2016|archive-date=April 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422175526/http://dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/docs/oregon_wolf_program/2015_Annual_Wolf_Report_3-18-16_FINAL.pdf|url-status=live}} and 112 in 2017.{{cite news|last=Theen|first=Andrew|title=Report: Oregon's Wolf Population Stagnant, 7 Animals Killed in 2016|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/04/oregons_latest_report_shows_sl.html|newspaper=The Oregonian|via=Oregon Live|date=April 11, 2017|access-date=August 3, 2017|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201021843/https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2017/04/oregons_latest_report_shows_sl.html|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Repopulation of wolves in California}}

File:Pup from the Lassen Pack.jpg]]

In 2015, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released a photo of the Shasta Pack, consisting of two adults and five pups in Siskiyou County, just south of the Oregon–California border. The breeding pair came from the same pack as OR-7, making them his siblings.{{cite news|last=House|first=Kelly|title=California Has Its First Wolf Pack in More Than 100 Years|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/08/california_has_its_first_wolf.html|newspaper=The Oregonian|via=Oregon Live|date=August 20, 2015|access-date=August 23, 2015|archive-date=August 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823000844/http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/08/california_has_its_first_wolf.html|url-status=live}} In 2017, the CDFW and the U.S. Forest Service determined that at least three wolf pups from a second pack, the Lassen Pack, can be traced to OR-7.{{Cite web|last=Urness|first=Zach|date=April 19, 2020|title=OR-7, the most famous wolf in the West, represented promise and peril of grey wolves in Oregon|url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2020/04/18/oregon-wolf-population-hunting-or-7-grey-wolves-wildlife/5151948002/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-02|website=Salem Statesman Journal|language=en}} One of OR-7s male offspring mated with another wolf to produce the pups, the birth of which made Journey a grandfather.{{cite news|last=Theen|first=Andrew|title=OR-7 Is a Grandpa to a New California Wolf Pack|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/07/or7_is_a_grandpa_to_a_new_cali.html|newspaper=The Oregonian|via=OregonLive|date=July 6, 2017|access-date=August 2, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=August 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802205552/http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2017/07/or7_is_a_grandpa_to_a_new_cali.html|url-status=live}} The Lassen Pack, which lives in Lassen National Forest, is California's second pack since wolves were eradicated from the state in the 1920s. In June 2017, CDFW biologists fitted the female of the Lassen Pack breeding pair with a tracking collar.{{cite news|title=CDFW Confirms Presence of Wolf Pack in Lassen County, Collars Adult Wolf|url=https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2017/07/05/cdfw-confirms-presence-of-wolf-pack-in-lassen-county-collars-adult-wolf/|work=CDFW News|publisher=California Department of Fish and Wildlife|date=July 5, 2017|access-date=August 3, 2017|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803222309/https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2017/07/05/cdfw-confirms-presence-of-wolf-pack-in-lassen-county-collars-adult-wolf/}}

OR-85 is a male wolf that traveled from Oregon to Siskiyou County in November 2020. {{As of |January 2021}}, another wolf, that biologists believe most likely to be a female, has joined up with OR-85 in this northernmost part of California.{{Cite web|last=Kinkade|first=Skye|date=January 28, 2021|title=Wolves in California: Siskiyou is home to a new pair|url=https://www.mtshastanews.com/story/news/2021/01/28/wolves-california-siskiyou-home-new-pair/4279436001/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-02|website=Mount Shasta Herald|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Martinez|first=Fernando|date=2021-02-01|title=Pair of wolves move to California, adding to the state's low wolf population|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-pair-of-wolves-move-to-California-adding-to-15914881.php|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-02|website=SFGATE|language=en-US}} It is likely that other undetected wolves are dispersing through portions of their historic habitat in California. Further informations and updates from August 2021 documented litters from 2 of 3 packs/groups. The Whaleback Pack, which is composed of OR-85 and a female that is related to Oregon's Rogue Pack, had 7 pups and the Lassen Pack had 6 pups. The Lassen Pack is now led by LAS09F and LAS16M.{{cite news|title=Known Wolves - July/August 2021|url=https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=193683&inline|work=CDFW News|publisher=California Department of Fish and Wildlife|date=August 3, 2021|access-date=August 26, 2021}}{{Cite press release|title=Two of California's Three Wolf Packs Confirmed to Have Pups|url=https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/two-of-californias-three-wolf-packs-confirmed-to-have-pups-2021-08-03/|date=August 3, 2021|access-date=August 26, 2021|publisher=Center for Biological Diversity|language=en}}

German-born filmmaker Clemens Schenk, who lives in Bend, has created a documentary, {{notatypo|OR7}}: The Journey. A look-alike wolf from Wolf People, an Idaho reserve, is the star of the film, which includes interviews with wolf experts as well as a woman who encountered OR-7 in the wild. The initial screening of the documentary took place in 2014 at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland.{{cite news|last=Terry|first=Lynne|title=Documentary of Oregon's Wandering Wolf, OR-7, Screened at Hollywood Theatre|date=May 21, 2014|work=The Oregonian|publisher=Oregon Live – Advance Digital|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/05/oregons_wandering_wolf_or-7_fe.html|access-date=May 27, 2014|archive-date=May 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528005333/http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/05/oregons_wandering_wolf_or-7_fe.html|url-status=live}}

Children's author Rosanne Parry's novel A Wolf Called Wander is based loosely on the story of OR-7.{{cite web|title=A Wolf Called Wander|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062895936/a-wolf-called-wander/|access-date=June 28, 2020|publisher=HarperCollins|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629202108/https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062895936/a-wolf-called-wander/|url-status=live}}

OR-7 is also featured in Juliana Spahr's That Winter the Wolf Came (2015).

• List of grey wolf populations by country
• List of wolves
• Slavc

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/or-7-rare-gray-wolf_n_1184677.html|title=OR-7, Rare Gray Wolf That Crossed Into California, Likely Photographed |work=The Huffington Post|access-date=March 27, 2012|date=January 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305045737/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/or-7-rare-gray-wolf_n_1184677.html|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=dead}}

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{{Commons category|OR-7}}

• [http://dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/population.asp Map of known wolf activity in Oregon in 2016] by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• [http://or7expedition.org/ Wolf OR-7 Expedition] Documentary of six adventurers retracing the route taken by OR-7

{{Portal bar|Biology|California|Oregon}}

Category:2009 animal births

Category:Individual animals in the United States

Category:Individual wild animals

Category:Individual wolves

Category:Natural history of California

Category:Natural history of Oregon

Category:Wolves in the United States