For our user agree- ment, click here . An endangered gray wolf spent Valentine's Day coursing across snow-capped mountains in northeast Oregon and looking for love in all the wrong places. State and federal biologists say B-45, a yearling female, appears to have crossed the Snake River from Idaho and made her way more than 100 miles into the headwaters of the John Day River, apparently in search of a mate. It's believed to be the first time a wolf transplanted in Idaho wilderness has gone so far into Oregon. Ed Bangs, the gray wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Helena, Mont., said a radio collar around B-45's neck would make her easy to track and, if necessary, recapture and return to Idaho.
Most wolves never cause problems.
But if they do, we have proven strategies in place to deal with that. Bangs said the female probably wouldn't find a mate in Oregon, and might even retrace her steps, swim the Snake River again and return to Idaho. If B-45 attacks any livestock, Bangs said, biologists will move quickly to either kill her or recapture and relocate her. An archive of Oregonian stories related to environmental concerns, ranging from salmon protection and federal logging legislature to urban growth and water quality control.