Young gray wolf wanders into central Sierra

Found in Mono County, the youngster has gone farther south than previous adventurers

A young gray wolf visited Mono County this week, traveling farther south into California than any known wild wolf in a century.

The GPS-collared wolf, a male known as OR-93, has traveled hundreds of miles to the central Sierra Nevada from his birthplace near Oregon’s Mount Hood, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

He crossed the state line into Modoc County earlier this month, then quickly journeyed south through portions of numerous California counties in the northeast section of the state.

He arrived this week in Alpine County to an area between the trans-Sierra State Highways 4 and 108. South of Lake Tahoe, it’s a rugged landscape of glacially carved valleys, thick forests and deep river canyons.

Then he edged into Mono County, east of Yosemite. The fifth-least populous county in California, Mono County is home to Bridgeport, June Lake and Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.

His adventures — in search of food or a mate — highlight the ability of this iconic species to disperse, if habitats are connected.

“OR-93’s historic trek so far south into California’s central Sierra Nevada is thrilling news for wolf recovery throughout the West,” said Pamela Flick, California program director of the nonprofit advocacy group Defenders of Wildlife.

As the first known member of Mount Hood’s “White River Pack” to disperse into California, “OR-93 also importantly brings the potential for increased genetic diversity to our state,” she said.

Scattered populations of an estimated 6,000 gray wolves can be found across the West and Great Lakes, restoring a species that was once shot, trapped or poisoned.

They are returning after an extermination program eliminated them from western U.S. states in the late 1800s and early 1900s, according to the Center For Biological Diversity. The last wild wolf in California was shot in 1924, in Lassen County.

But they are coming back. OR-93 is the 16th gray wolf documented to have traveled into California from Oregon in recent years. One of those wandering wolves once visited near Truckee and Boreal Mountain ski area in Tahoe National Forest, about a mile and a half from Interstate 80. Known as OR-54, she was found dead in Shasta County in February 2020.

SCOTT SUMNER — CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A male wolf, OR-93, collared by Oregon wildlife officials last year, has been spotted in Siskiyou County with another wolf, likely a female, who could deliver puppies this spring, California wildlife officials said.