Endangered wolf walks nearly 9000 miles to find mate but dies alone

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An endangered wolf travelled thousands of miles across the US in search of a mate but died before it could find one, officials tracking the canine’s movements have said.

The female grey wolf was first captured in October 2017 by biologists in Oregon who began tracking the endangered animal’s movements. The young canine, named OR-54, was found dead on Wednesday in California.

The wolf had been searching for a mate, or another pack, officials said, and wandered at least 8,712 miles in its hunt. It’s not yet known how the animal died, but state officials say they have launched an investigation. The shooting death of another collared wolf – OR-59 – is unsolved, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a $2,500 (£1,940) reward in January for information on that case.

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Researchers say OR-54 was three or four when it died. Its tagging in 2017 was a happy find. “At long last!”, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office wrote on Facebook.

State and federal wildlife officials had long been trying to collar a wolf from Oregon’s so-called Rogue Pack. The tracking collar on wolf OR-7, the founding member of that pack, had stopped working years prior, and officials had not been able to place a new tracking device on any of the protected animals in the area for several years.

Shape Created with Sketch. World's most endangered animals Show all 17 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. World's most endangered animals 1/17 Amur Leopard Endemic to the far east of Russia, the Amur Leopard has a population of around 84 and is critically endangered. Here follows every species that the WWF lists as critically endangered. Getty 2/17 Sumatran Elephant The Sumatran elephant population now stands at only 2400-2800 Getty 3/17 Yangtze Finless Porpoise Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise has an estimated population of 1000-1800 Kenichi Nobusue 4/17 South China Tiger When discovered in the 1950s, the South China tiger population was estimated to be 4000, by 1996 it was estimated to be only 30-80. Scientists consider the tiger to be "functionally extinct" as one has not been sighted for over 25 years 5/17 Sumatran Orangutan The Sumatran orangutan was once found across the island of Sumatra and even further south on Java. Today it is found only in the island's north and its population stands at 14,613 Getty 6/17 Western Lowland Gorilla Though it is the most populous of all gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla is still critically endangered and its population has declined by 60% in the last quarter century Getty 7/17 Sumatran Rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the surviving rhinoceros species. Only 80 are known to be living today. The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died on 28 May 2019 Willem V Strien 8/17 Sumatran Tiger There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left today. They are severely threatened by deforestation and poaching Getty 9/17 Eastern Lowland Gorilla Half of the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in which these gorillas live has been destroyed the past 50 years. There were 17,000 Eastern Lowland gorillas in the 1990s but scientists estimate their population has declined by over 50% since then Getty 10/17 Vaquita The world's rarest marine animal has a population of only 30. They were discovered in 1958 and are endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California Paula Olson / NOAA 11/17 Javan Rhino The most threatened of all rhino species, there are only an estimated 58-68 Javan rhinos left Reuters 12/17 Saola The saola was first sighted in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered in over 50 years. Scientists have only sighted saola in the wild four times and it is considered critically endangered 13/17 Malayan Tiger The Malayan Tiger population now stands at only 250-300 Getty 14/17 Hawksbill Turtle The population of the Hawksbill Turtle has declined by more than 80% in the last century. They are threatened by black market poachers who kill them for their shell Getty 15/17 Black Rhino The population of the black rhino dropped by 98% in the years 1960-1995 due to poaching, it stands today at around 5000 Getty 16/17 Cross River Gorilla The population of the Cross River gorilla has been damaged by deforestation and poaching, it now stands at 200-300 Julie Langford 17/17 Bornean Orangutan The population of the Bornean orangutan has been reduced by over 50% in the past 60 years, now standing at around 104,700. Their habitat has been reduced by at least 50% in the 21st century Getty 1/17 Amur Leopard Endemic to the far east of Russia, the Amur Leopard has a population of around 84 and is critically endangered. Here follows every species that the WWF lists as critically endangered. Getty 2/17 Sumatran Elephant The Sumatran elephant population now stands at only 2400-2800 Getty 3/17 Yangtze Finless Porpoise Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise has an estimated population of 1000-1800 Kenichi Nobusue 4/17 South China Tiger When discovered in the 1950s, the South China tiger population was estimated to be 4000, by 1996 it was estimated to be only 30-80. Scientists consider the tiger to be "functionally extinct" as one has not been sighted for over 25 years 5/17 Sumatran Orangutan The Sumatran orangutan was once found across the island of Sumatra and even further south on Java. Today it is found only in the island's north and its population stands at 14,613 Getty 6/17 Western Lowland Gorilla Though it is the most populous of all gorilla subspecies, the western lowland gorilla is still critically endangered and its population has declined by 60% in the last quarter century Getty 7/17 Sumatran Rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the surviving rhinoceros species. Only 80 are known to be living today. The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died on 28 May 2019 Willem V Strien 8/17 Sumatran Tiger There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left today. They are severely threatened by deforestation and poaching Getty 9/17 Eastern Lowland Gorilla Half of the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo in which these gorillas live has been destroyed the past 50 years. There were 17,000 Eastern Lowland gorillas in the 1990s but scientists estimate their population has declined by over 50% since then Getty 10/17 Vaquita The world's rarest marine animal has a population of only 30. They were discovered in 1958 and are endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California Paula Olson / NOAA 11/17 Javan Rhino The most threatened of all rhino species, there are only an estimated 58-68 Javan rhinos left Reuters 12/17 Saola The saola was first sighted in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered in over 50 years. Scientists have only sighted saola in the wild four times and it is considered critically endangered 13/17 Malayan Tiger The Malayan Tiger population now stands at only 250-300 Getty 14/17 Hawksbill Turtle The population of the Hawksbill Turtle has declined by more than 80% in the last century. They are threatened by black market poachers who kill them for their shell Getty 15/17 Black Rhino The population of the black rhino dropped by 98% in the years 1960-1995 due to poaching, it stands today at around 5000 Getty 16/17 Cross River Gorilla The population of the Cross River gorilla has been damaged by deforestation and poaching, it now stands at 200-300 Julie Langford 17/17 Bornean Orangutan The population of the Bornean orangutan has been reduced by over 50% in the past 60 years, now standing at around 104,700. Their habitat has been reduced by at least 50% in the 21st century Getty

Then they snagged OR-54, the 54th wolf collared in that state, and OR-7′s daughter.

The Oregon-born OR-7 was the first wild grey wolf documented in California since the species was widely eradicated in the 20th century. Its presence helped establish state protections for grey wolves. It travelled widely before returning to Oregon, finding a mate and starting the Rogue Pack.

In 2018, OR-54 followed its father’s pawsteps to the Golden State.

It crossed from Oregon into California on 24 January, 2018, and mostly stayed, first traversing eastern Siskiyou County before walking through Butte, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra and Tehama counties in search of a mate, according to the Sacramento Bee. It twice returned to Oregon. It briefly sneaked into Nevada. It travelled an average of 13 miles a day – a lengthy journey that seemed to cover a lot of the same ground its father crossed years before.

Amaroq Weiss, a wolf advocate at the Centre for Biological Diversity, said in a news release that like its father: “OR-54 was a beacon of hope who showed that wolves can return and flourish here.”

She told The Washington Post the wolf’s death sets back the “trajectory we hoped for wolf recovery”.

“Being a wolf in the wild is very fragile,” Ms Weiss said. “It’s surprising to most. But a lone wolf usually doesn’t live past 4 or 5 years.”

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She said lone wolves may be killed by wolf packs, kicked by the elk they’re chasing or killed by humans.

Except for a few run-ins, OR-54’s journey appeared mostly solitary.

“I think the fact that she travelled so far if nothing else is an indication that we don’t have a lot of lone wolves for her to have met up with,” Ms Weiss said.

Fewer than a dozen known wolves live in California. In July, tracking devices found that OR-54 crept towards the territory of the only known wolf pack in the state, according to the Sacramento Bee. But she didn’t stay for long. She was also suspected in at least five livestock attacks.

Wolves have long been despised by ranchers and farmers, an industry whose influence wildlife advocates in part blame for reluctance at the state and federal level to develop recovery plans for the controversial predators.

Last March, the Trump administration proposed stripping federal protections for grey wolves in the US, saying the species had successfully recovered. Still, some states are taking wolf recovery efforts into their own hands: In Colorado, for example, voters will decide via a ballot measure in November whether to reintroduce the endangered species.

Ms Weiss said the loss of numerous wolves underlines “how important it is that we have protections in place for wolves”.

“We’d never have wolves coming back to California, coming to Oregon, if they hadn’t been listed for federal protections,” she said. She added: “We hope every wolf has a long flourishing life in which they can live out their own intrinsic existence, and at the same time contribute to a successful recovery of this species.”

dontlookback76 on February 9th, 2020 at 19:05 UTC »

This makes me sad.

softg on February 9th, 2020 at 17:57 UTC »

The wolf had been searching for a mate, or another pack, officials said, and wandered at least 8,712 miles in its hunt.

She didn't even have any friends the poor thing

WorkingOnMyself01 on February 9th, 2020 at 17:31 UTC »

This is saddening.