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Wolf sighted in the Cascades?
By Jim Anderson
, Correspondent
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 6:29 AM
Is it a wild wolf? A sighting on the Santiam Pass raised interest.
photo by Chris Mortimer
photo provided
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Chris Mortimer, a naturalist from California, was driving over the Santiam Pass on Wednesday, January 28, when he was shocked to see a very large, wolf-like animal dash across the road in front of him.
"Wolf!" he shouted, and pulled over to the side of the highway.
With only a small, point-and-shoot camera at his disposal, he did the best he could to document what may turn out to be the first wild wolf seen in these parts in over 100 years.
"I think it's too far from Idaho to be part of those packs," said John Stephenson, local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife specialist, after he and Corey Heath, Bend Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, tracked the animal over five miles from where Mortimer first observed it. "I couldn't see any sign of it getting into someone's pickup, or heading for a house. Could be the real thing, but we just don't know."
Russ Morgan, ODFW wildlife biologist stationed in LaGrande, who has had experience with wolves and is the state's wolf coordinator, agreed that is definitely wolf-like, and contacted Stephenson and Heath asking for possible confirmation.
According to most wolf experts who have viewed Mortimer's photos, the opinion is that the animal sighted is in excellent condition, showing "a good coat and fat on the belly," a trait rarely seen in a "wild wolf." This leaves some speculation that it may have been released or strayed after escaping from from captivity.
Then there's the "wolfdog" theory. Wolfdogs, a cross-breed of domestic dog and wolf, have become popular in some circles. They possess a moderate percentage of wolf, and but tend to be more like a dog than a wolf in most situations. However, wolfdog "ownership" (which is legal in Oregon) is not to be taken lightly, as wolfdog crosses have some characteristics that can make them challenging as pets.
Even the terms used to refer to wolfdogs can be confusing; in the past the term wolf hybrid was commonly used. The term "hybrid" refers to a cross of different species; however, dogs have been reclassified as Canis lupus familiaris, a sub species of wolves (Canis lupus).
After reviewing the experience and evidence of his encounter, Mortimer said, "Anyway, this was so cool. I still barely believe it. I have to keep looking at the photo so I don't doubt my vision."
If anyone observes an animal with wolf-like characteristics it would be helpful in clearing up this wildlife mystery if they would contact the Bend ODFW office at 388-6363.
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6 and a half years later. August 29th 2015 my son and his friends are hunting near Round Lake off of road 430 off of the Santiam pass and they were trying to call in elk when they hear what they thought was a coyote. so one of them pulled out a coyote call .and called. what they got in return was at least 5 wolves on all sides of them... I am not a biologist but maybe the belly fat on the one in the picture was due to the lack of competition and with low competition and plenty of food they stay, get healthy and bread. Really how many wolves are really in Oregon ?
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Mark Gorman
8/30/2015 6:55:00 PM
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Biologists solve mystery of black wolves UCLA Press Release, 5-Feb-2009 Why do nearly half of North American wolves have black coats while European wolves are overwhelmingly gray or white? The surprising answer, according to teams of biologists and molecular geneticists from Stanford University, UCLA, Sweden, Canada and Italy, is that the black coats are the result of historical matings between black dogs and wild gray wolves. The research, federally funded by the National Science Foundation, appears Feb. 5 in the online edition of the journal Science and will be published later in the journal’s print edition.
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Mike Dubrasich
2/24/2009 12:08:00 PM
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I used to run pack strings in the local wilderness areas,1985 thru 1996, and often saw a wolf pack up in the Table Lake area. Whenever I talked to ODFW or USFS people they would always deny their exhistence here. I just figured that they didn't want the general public to know about them.
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John BigKnife
2/6/2009 4:23:00 AM
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