An Oregon wolf thought to be dead after disappearing from his pack in the Wallowa Mountains three years ago, has resurfaced hundreds of miles away in northern Klamath County. Now aged 7 years, the male wolf who detached from Imnaha pack, has been spotted in the Cascade Mountains near Crater Lake.
The image of the three-year-old male canine was recovered from the video taken by an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee on May 10, 2011 in Wallowa County.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife in the state gave up searching for the wolf sometime back. Three years is such a long time and radio collar they had used to track him probably ran out of power. However, in August this year, the wolf made a surprise appearance. The hunter’s trail camera picked up an image of a black radio collared wolf. The wild life officials acknowledged the photo was that of OR-3 and confirmed their hunch a few days ago.
According to spokesperson for the state wildlife department, Michelle Dennehy, biologists cannot tell whether OR-3 is with any other wolves and they do not have good explanation of where he has been all this time. Therefore, they will attempt to gather more information about him now that his whereabouts have been established.