LEBEC, Calif. (KNX) — A gray wolf born in Oregon who migrated over 1,000 miles to Southern California has been found dead in Kern County.
OR-93, a two-year-old male, was found dead on Nov. 10 along Interstate 5 near Lebec, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Forensic examiners at the Wildlife Health Laboratory near Sacramento found the wolf had "significant tissue trauma to the left rear leg and a dislocated knee as well as soft tissue trauma to the abdomen" — injuries consistent with being struck by a car.
A trucker spotted the wolf's body along a dirt trail near a frontage road running alongside I-5 and reported it to fish and wildlife officials. A warden went to the scene to collect the remains and immediately identified them as belonging to OR-93 due to a distinctive purple collar.
OR-93 left his pack in northern Oregon and was tracked south, eventually showing up in Ventura County in September. Before his death, the wolf was the only known of his species to be spotted so far south in California since 1922.
