#or-7

MarInk Day 11: Wander

This isn't actually fanart of any media or an OC, but rather a drawing of a real animal! This is OR-7, also nicknamed "Journey". He is a real wolf walked a whopping 1600 kilometres, and he was also the first wolf in a long time to return to both California and western Oregon. You can read more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OR-7

I didn't just choose OR-7 for today's prompt because he "wandered" a lot, though. A children's book based on OR-7's journey was actually written a few years ago, called "A Wolf Called Wander". In this book they named OR-7 "Wander" rather than Journey or his designation, which is why I chose him from this prompt. The word Wander is intrinsically connected to OR-7 to me.

If you want to learn about one wolf and how that one wolf won over so many people to protect wolves generally, then you want to read this essay published in Medium about OR-7 (who also had the name, “Journey”). I’ve posted lots of stories about OR-7 over the years, so I take it for granted that you know about him. He traveled thousands of miles looking for his perfect girlfriend, had several litters and now has grandpuppies all over the place. He also was behind a change in California law, when wolves were added to state protection under the California Endangered Species Act. I’m posting some of the maps and a few photos (including some grandpuppies) from this story; no paywall if you want to dive in and read about him.

A little tribute to OR-7 from the author of this story:

OR-7 was loved. He inspired the writing of multiple books, two documentaries and a stop-motion animated film, as well as a poem I wrote which singer-songwriter Geoff Bradley turned into lyrics for a song he composed. Bradley’s beautiful performance of the song, which he named “Journey of a Lone Wolf,” is hope-filled and haunting, fully capturing the sense of possibility borne by OR-7 and by every single wolf who leaves their pack in search of their destiny.

I’ve posted the video of his song, “Journey of a Lone Wolf,” at the bottom of this post.

This remote camera photo taken May 3, 2014, shows the wolf OR-7 on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon s Cascade Mountains. State and federal wildlife agencies said Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, they have designated OR-7, his mate and their pups the Rogue Pack, for their location in the Rogue River drainage in the Cascades east of Medford. It’s the first pack in western Oregon and the ninth in the state since wolves from Idaho started swimming the Snake River in the 1990s. (AP Photo/Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, File)

Excerpt from this Op-Ed from the Mercury News:

Nearly a decade ago, the wolf known as OR-7 first set foot in California – the first wild gray wolf in the Golden State in 87 years. Few knew then that this young traveler who trekked 700 miles from northeastern Oregon would go on to change the fate of his entire species here in California.

Dubbed OR-7 because he was the seventh wolf to be radio-collared by biologists in Oregon, the wolf would become like a celebrity in California and beyond. By the time state biologists announced in April that he had likely died of natural causes, OR-7 had become an unwitting ambassador for his species.

Through his life and life story, the public learned that wolf packs are families. We learned that wolves travel long distances in search of love. We learned that all the old animosities that nearly eradicated wolves in the first place still exist and still carry political power.

If you’ve read the Urban Adventure League blog (TM) long enough, it should go without saying that I like the whole notion of bicycle touring. And I like it so much that I do such silly things like write a guide on touring or post things to the touring subforum of Bikeforums.net. And I really like it when people make a bike tour something more than “just a bike tour”. Now don’t get me wrong, I…

Feds try to collar OR-7 again

November 4, 2016 - State and federal biologists are setting out traps nightly in hopes of catching and collaring gray wolf OR-7 or his mate so they can regain the tracking capabilities that allowed the world to watch his long journey for a mate.