Police seek tips after Oregon wolf found shot dead in Northeastern Oregon
WALLOWA, Ore. - A lone wolf that dispersed from an established Oregon pack was found shot dead this week in northeastern Oregon.
A concerned citizen reported finding a dead wolf wearing a tracking collar January 8, 2022, on Parsnip Creek Road, southeast of Wallowa. The area is in the Sled Springs wildlife management unit.
Oregon State Police troopers and Oregon Department of Wildlife staff investigated.
"The initial investigation revealed that the wolf likely died as a result of being shot," state police said. "The wolf, OR 106, was a two-year-old collared female. OR 106 was a lone wolf that dispersed from the Chesnimnus Pack."
State police ask anyone with information in the case to call the Oregon State Police Tip-line at 1-800-452-7888, *OSP (*677), or email at TIP@state.or.us in reference to case #SP22006179.
People who turn in wolf poachers qualify for 5 preference points or a cash reward in Oregon.
Police are still investigating the poisoning of an entire pack in northeastern Oregon last year, as well as the poisoning deaths of several other wolves. The reward in that case is around $50,000.
Wolf advocates at the Center for Biological Diversity called on the state to investigate and hold the people responsible accountable, noting "only three illegal wolf killings in Oregon have resulted in a prosecution and conviction."
“This wolf’s lonely death highlights why Oregon needs to establish a special prosecutor’s office for wildlife-related crime,” said Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Oregon’s wolves are in extreme danger from illegal killings, and the killers often escape consequences. In the past 21 years, 30 wolves have been illegally killed, and the deaths of two others were deemed mysterious. The state needs to do much more to investigate and punish these sickening crimes.”
