Oregon wolf crosses border into California

By KVAL News Published: Dec 29, 2011 at 5:41 PM PDT Last Updated: Dec 29, 2011 at 7:28 PM PDT
Oregon wolf crosses border into California
This Oct. 25, 2011 photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows OR-11, a male pup from the Walla Walla pack, waking up from anesthesia after being fitted with a radio tracking collar in northeastern Oregon. Another wolf, OR-7, from the Imnaha pack, has become a celebrity by trekking 730 miles on a zigzag course from near the Idaho border tot he southern Cascade Range. His GPS tracking collar has traced his trail across the state. There are no known photos yet of OR-7. (AP Photo/Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

SALEM, Ore. - The Oregon wolf that wandered across the state to southern Oregon crossed the California border on Wednesday, according to wildlife officials in both states.

Any wild gray wolf that returns to California is protected as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game said Thursday.

Wolf OR-7 crossed the state line into northern Siskiyou County on Wednesday. He started months ago in northeastern Oregon as a member of the Imnaha pack before setting out on his own.

Tracking data puts his most recent location as a few miles south of the Oregon border. It is not possible to predict his next movements, which could include a return to Oregon, wildlife officials said.

"Whether one is for it or against it, the entry of this lone wolf into California is an historic event and result of much work by the wildlife agencies in the West," said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “If the gray wolf does establish a population in California, there will be much more work to do here."

OR-7 is the first wolf confirmed in California since 1924.