A Wolf in Tuolumne County

I can't confirm the text below, but I included a CDFW link at the bottom, that shows the same wolf in several counties far from the OR border.

 A New Visitor in the Motherlode
      State wildlife officials confirm that a gray wolf that made its way from Oregon was tracked in the area between Highways 108 and 4 in Tuolumne County. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reports the animal was in that area on Wednesday the 24th, and is the first known visit of a gray wolf to the county.
     The one-year-old male wolf is being tracked by a collar numbered OR-93 by the department. He is a relation of an Oregon pack named, The White River Pack, according to CDFW. They detail that in 2017, two wolves were documented to be using the White River Wildlife Area and Mt. Hood National Forest, marking the first time multiple wolves were confirmed in Oregon’s North Cascade Mountains. The animals were also observed on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
     Why the wolf has ventured into the county is unclear. Although, Fish and Wildlife biologists believe that he is dispersing from his Oregon pack, and where he will end up is unknown. CDFW officials stress that gray wolves pose very little safety risk to humans. They offer these tips if anyone should encounter one: do not run, maintain eye contact and make noise while retreating slowly.       
     Additionally, these wolves are covered under the Endangered Species Act in California, which makes it unlawful to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, or capture them.
-By Tracey Petersen

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=190393&inline

See OR-93 on the second page

That's really cool that they're re-establishing.

Whoa, need to start packing heat when I am up there!

Whoa, need to start packing heat when I am up there!

This kind of attitude is why predators have disappeared from so much of their original range.
Did you even read the blurb? Wolves are relatively harmless.

 

Yeah yeah yeah.  I still get the geebies when I find wolf tracks in the snow that I made 20 minutes earlier.  There are a couple of packs close to me.  We had tracks 5 feet off of our deck 2 years ago.  Fished a small creek last year and came across a fresh wolf killed deer.  I do not go out into the woods without a firearm  With that said, I've been lucky enough to hear them multiple times but have only put eyes on one.

Michigan Upper Peninsula

Whoa, need to start packing heat when I am up there!

This kind of attitude is why predators have disappeared from so much of their original range.
Did you even read the blurb? Wolves are relatively harmless.

 

Did not mean to offend your sensibilities. Read the blurb and have been closely following the amazing reintro of the southern Oregon pack and their forays into northeast California. Yes it is way cool to see them get further south. However,  I spend a LOT of time in the area (108-4-88 corridors) at mid to high elevation. Have been going there since the 1970's so will certainly be a bit more aware.  Not intending to shoot on sight or anything like that!

... if anyone should encounter one: do not run, maintain eye contact and make noise while retreating slowly.

Very cool that a wolf is in the state.

But are you really supposed to make (let alone maintain) eye contact with a wolf? Several decades ago, I heard a talk by a guy who had somehow become the owner of wolf-dog hybrid--he claimed it was at least 90% wolf, and it looked like it. He said the one thing you should never do is to make eye contact, as the animal would take that as a sign of aggression. By the end of the talk, I'd forgotten his warning, and was pretty close to the animal and looked it in the eye. It lunged at me in a extremely aggressive way, and if it hadn't been on a heavy leash, I'm sure it would've taken a chunk out of me. Pretty intense moment that I'll never forget...

Whoa, need to start packing heat when I am up there!

There are also a few cougar families that reside off of 108. They used to run down our street at night and drive the dogs crazy. I have been face to face with a female cougar on our hiking path during the winter, but he was so lethargic she just looked at me and let me admire her for a while, then just turned away and walked off.

Whoa, need to start packing heat when I am up there!

This kind of attitude is why predators have disappeared from so much of their original range.
Did you even read the blurb? Wolves are relatively harmless.

 

Did not mean to offend your sensibilities. Read the blurb and have been closely following the amazing reintro of the southern Oregon pack and their forays into northeast California. Yes it is way cool to see them get further south. However,  I spend a LOT of time in the area (108-4-88 corridors) at mid to high elevation. Have been going there since the 1970's so will certainly be a bit more aware.  Not intending to shoot on sight or anything like that!

Fair enough, but if everyone started "packing heat" because of a few wolves re-establishing California, eventually some idiot would needlessly shoot one.

Took my pup for a run in the woods yesterday and thought of this thread.

That area near Spicer Meadows and Utica/Union reservoirs kinda feels like wolf territory. Doing a kayak camping trip up there this summer.