OR7 Is A Daddy!

OR7+pups1

June 5, 2014

Really great news! It’s been confirmed OR7 and his mate have at least two pups.Last month, Oregon wildlife officials said they believed the gray wolf may have found a mate, and on Wednesday they said biologists confirmed the pair produced offspring in the Cascade Range, with two pups spotted on camera in a den.” 

How wonderful! There hasn’t been a breeding pair of wolves in the Oregon Cascades since the 1940’s. Congrats OR7, your indomitable spirit and determination to find a mate and start a family has come true. AND you made history once again by being the first wolves to breed in the Oregon Cascades in over seventy years!

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 Famous Oregon wolf that trekked to California has puppies

PORTLAND Ore. Wed Jun 4, 2014 10:02pm EDT

(Reuters) – An Oregon gray wolf famous for roaming in and out of California in search of a mate sired at least two pups, playing his part in the first known wolf breeding in the Cascade Mountain Range within Oregon since the 1940s, officials said on Wednesday.

OR-7, a wolf so named as he was the seventh of his species ever collared in Oregon with a tracking device, made headlines in December 2011 when he turned up in northern California, becoming the first wild specimen confirmed in the Golden state in 87 years.

Since March 2013, OR-7 has spent most of his time in the Cascade Range of southwestern Oregon, but was believed to have returned to California twice earlier this year.

Last month, Oregon wildlife officials said they believed the gray wolf may have found a mate, and on Wednesday they said biologists confirmed the pair produced offspring in the Cascade Range, with two pups spotted on camera in a den.

John Stephenson, wolf biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that since April, OR-7 has been traveling to find food and returning to the den.

“Each day he comes back to the spot, so he’s been coming back to the den area on a daily basis for a month and half,” Stephenson said. “He’s definitely taking care of the pups.”

Wolves in Oregon and elsewhere across the continental United States were hunted to extinction decades ago. But they were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies in the 1990s, and some later migrated to the state from Idaho.

Oregon’s wolf population is now estimated to number more than 60 animals.

Officials say OR-7 likely has more pups than the two that were spotted, as gray wolves typically breed four to six puppies in a litter.

“This is very exciting news,” Paul Henson, state supervisor of the Oregon office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement. “It continues to illustrate that gray wolves are being recovered.”

OR-7 was born into northeastern Oregon’s Imnaha wolf pack in April 2009.

Wolves throughout Oregon are protected by the state Endangered Species Act.

In eastern Oregon, they lost their federally protected status in 2011 when Congress lifted Endangered Species Act safeguards for various wolf populations in several states, but protections have remained in place for any animals in the western two-thirds of Oregon.

By coincidence on Wednesday, the California Fish and Game Commission formally voted to list the gray wolf as an endangered species under that state’s wildlife protection laws.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/us-usa-oregon-wolf-idUSKBN0EF26W20140605

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Wandering Oregon wolf has pups in Cascade Range

by Cornelius Swart, KGW.com Staff

Posted on June 4, 2014 at 12:45 PM

OR7-comp

http://www.nwcn.com/news/wandering-oregon-wolf-pups-cascade-range-.html

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Photos: Courtesy USFWS

Posted in: gray wolves, OR7, gray wolf pups

Tags: OR7 a daddy, wolf pups, Oregon Cascade Range, historic moment for Oregon

 

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22 CommentsLeave a comment

  1. May not get to brag about much here in California (BLM’s wild horse and burro policies are abysmal), but Journey and his family can safely visit ME any time they wish!!!

    p.s. Little tidbit…friends and I followed his tracking while he was here, though it was on a two week delay for his safety. There is an equine sanctuary we support up in Northern Cali, and Journey managed to make his way to within shouting distance of the sanctuary. The sanctuary’s owner had a lovely wolf-dog hybrid who spent quite a few days looking longingly at the end of the property…but it was not to be. So, as trivial as that sounds, he was practically family!

    It’s exciting and rewarding, knowing he finally has a family of his own. Blessings!

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  2. So glad about my sweet baby wolf. I hope and I wish puppies will survive and thrive. Thank you.

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  3. Wonderful!

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  4. How wonderful and worrisome! They need 24hr. protection!

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  5. How exciting! We should have a baby shower (cub shower) for them!

    Thanks for letting us know.

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    • We should have a baby shower (cub shower) for them!

      Marilyn, that was so cute, you made my day..lol

      For the wolves, For the wild ones,
      Nabeki

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    • Very sweet, a cub shower! 🙂

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  6. It is a great feeling to have some good news after so much negative.

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  7. Fantastic news! I hope Oregon and California watch out for and protect them.

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    • Yes Ida, I’m worried as well because they are in one place now and not moving around. But it’s a great day for OR7 after his endless search to finally find a mate and pass his amazing genes onto his puppies. His mother was quite the wanderer herself and had the same bold spirit.

      For the wolves, For the wild ones,
      Nabeki

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  8. May God and St. Francis keep the OR-7 family safe! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. OR-7!!!

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    • Anne,

      From your lips to god’s ear!!

      For the wolves, For the wild ones,
      Nabeki

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  9. This is really exciting!! Glad California can offer a safe place to migrate as the pack grows. Love this!!!

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  10. Watch them like hawks.

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  11. This is awesome news! Journey is going to be a daddy, and California will have puppies!

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  12. omg im so happy this is a great feeling to know something good happened in wildlife. I hope they grow up to be amazing wolves!!! ❤

    so happy for you OR7!!!! #Howl For Justice!

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  13. Nabeki, if you remember me, please contact me. Thanks…

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  14. Reblogged this on Exposing the Big Game.

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  15. This is such wonderful news! As someone else said, guard them closely and don’t give their location.
    We would welcome some wolves in Me so if any of them want to trek this way, that would be great.

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  16. My heart sings. May loving spirits keep these treasures safe.

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  17. Has anyone seen this video? Wiley the wolf dog cries over the grave of someone he loves. Can’t believe the people who won’t admit that nonhuman animals have feelings. My own beloved Cinnamon would do this when I scolded him or was impatient. He would be dispondent until I told him I loved him.

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  18. So happy for this bit of good news! May the Great Spirit keep them safe and sound. Howls!!!! 🙂

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