A gray wolf that researchers have been tracking for months has crossed into California from Oregon.
If he stays, the 2 ½ year old male would be the first wild gray wolf in the state since 1924, when the last one was killed in Lassen County.
The wolf broke off from a pack in Oregon, where 24 gray wolves have established themselves over the past 12 years.
Gray wolves are controversial because they can kill livestock and pose a danger to humans. They are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The federal government has been trying to re-introduce gray wolves to the west for about 20 years.
Here’s a link to a release from the California Department of Fish and Game about the wolf, called OR7, and the issue of re-introducing gray wolves.
