A male gray wolf known as OR-93 was killed after being hit by a vehicle near the town of Lebec on Nov. 10, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday.A truck driver reported seeing the dead wolf along a dirt trail near a frontage road that runs parallel to Interstate 5. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said a warden quickly identified the wolf as OR-93 because of its collar.”I’m devastated to learn of the death of this remarkable wolf, whose epic travels across California inspired the world,” said Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. Due to where OR-93 was killed, Weiss believes he may have been on a journey north.”The fact that he was now headed back across Interstate 5 makes me wonder if he had finally decided he wasn’t going to be able to find a match where he was located and was going to head north,” Weiss said.OR-93 was born in northern Oregon in 2019. His travel has been closely monitored since federal wildlife officials fitted the young wolf with a purple tracking collar in June 2020.The wolf was first tracked in California on Jan. 30, 2021. OR-93 briefly returned to Oregon before reentering California to begin his trek south. The wolf traveled hundreds of miles and was tracked in various regions of the state. The wolf entered San Benito County in late March 2021 and entered Monterey County on April 1. The last time a wolf was reported in Monterey County was in 1826, according to historical data compiled by California wildlife officials. OR-93 traveled the farthest south in California than any gray wolf has been documented since one was captured in San Bernardino County in 1922, state wildlife officials said.
A male gray wolf known as OR-93 was killed after being hit by a vehicle near the town of Lebec on Nov. 10, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday.
A truck driver reported seeing the dead wolf along a dirt trail near a frontage road that runs parallel to Interstate 5. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said a warden quickly identified the wolf as OR-93 because of its collar.
“I’m devastated to learn of the death of this remarkable wolf, whose epic travels across California inspired the world,” said Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Due to where OR-93 was killed, Weiss believes he may have been on a journey north.
“The fact that he was now headed back across Interstate 5 makes me wonder if he had finally decided he wasn’t going to be able to find a match where he was located and was going to head north,” Weiss said.
OR-93 was born in northern Oregon in 2019. His travel has been closely monitored since federal wildlife officials fitted the young wolf with a purple tracking collar in June 2020.
The wolf was first tracked in California on Jan. 30, 2021. OR-93 briefly returned to Oregon before reentering California to begin his trek south.
The wolf traveled hundreds of miles and was tracked in various regions of the state. The wolf entered San Benito County in late March 2021 and entered Monterey County on April 1.
The last time a wolf was reported in Monterey County was in 1826, according to historical data compiled by California wildlife officials.
OR-93 traveled the farthest south in California than any gray wolf has been documented since one was captured in San Bernardino County in 1922, state wildlife officials said.