Oregon wolf puzzle: Two wolves collared in state aren't related to other Oregon wolves

Published: Friday, August 03, 2012

By Richard Cockle, The Oregonian  

 

 So where did they come from? Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists have a wolf puzzle on their hands.

They've discovered that two gray wolves captured and collared last fall in northeastern Oregon's Walla Walla pack aren't closely related to any other Oregon wolves that have been sampled to date.

All they really know from the wolf DNA is that OR-10 and OR-11 are full siblings, biologists said in a wolf program update.

The rest of Oregon's gray wolves are believed to have either migrated into the state from Idaho, or are offspring or descendants of wolves from Idaho. Many appear to be related to one another.

Example: A wolf known as OR-12, a member of the Wenaha pack that was captured April 2, is a progeny of the Imnaha pack, farther to the east. OR-12 is believed to be the breeding male for the Wenaha pack, and biologists are testing Wenaha pup scats to confirm that.

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