Oregon-born grey wolf that went on ‘epic’ travels around California killed by vehicle

Wildlife authorities believe the animal walked 95 miles before death near Los Angeles

A grey wolf (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An Oregon-born grey wolf that trekked all the way from its home to southern California was killed by a vehicle, authorities have said.

A truck driver reported the dead wolf on 10 November in Lebec, a town roughly 75 miles (120km) northwest of Los Angeles.

Authorities said a warden responded immediately and the wolf was removed from a trail running alongside Interstate 5, the main north-south highway on the US west coast.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said on Wednesday it believed there was no foul play involved in the death of the male wolf, who was known as OR93.

The wolf had trekked 935 miles (1,505 kms) from its home in Oregon to California, and what the CDFW said was the farthest south travelled by any wolf in almost a century.

“Before his demise, he was documented traveling the farthest south in California since wolves returned to the state, which is historically wolf habitat,” the department said.

“The last documented wolf that far south was captured in San Bernardino County in 1922”.

Grey wolves were almost wiped out in the 1920s, and were listed endangered and only recently began returning to the US west coast.

A decision by federal US authorities last year to delist the grey wolf as endangered was criticised by wildlife campaigners and tribal nations, despite large increases in the animal’s population,

According to the CDFW press release, the wolf was identified as OR93 because of a radio tracking collar it wore, and a necropsy found significant trauma to its leg and abdomen.

OR93 was among a small number of grey wolves that had begun venturing into California from states such as Oregon,

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.