Officials said they believe OR-54 was born in Oregon in 2016, but broke from her pack on Jan. 23, 2018. The wolf, OR-54, was almost 4 years old and made her way into California in 2018. Fish and Wildlife Service removed gray wolves from the endangered-species list in Idaho and Montana. An endangered gray wold that wandered more than 8,000 miles through Oregon, California and Nevada was found dead on Wednesday. Though humans nearly hunted wolves to extinction in the lower 48 states, northern gray wolves have returned to the Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. Gray wolves, or timber wolves, are off the endangered species list in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, the federal government announced last month. The U.S. Another gray wolf, OR-59, was found reportedly shot to death in Northern California in 2018, and his death is still unsolved. A federal judge on Friday threw out an Obama administration decision to remove the gray wolf population in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list -- … A federal judge on Friday threw out an Obama administration decision to remove the gray wolf population in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list -- … Gray wolves range in color from grizzled gray or black to all-white. In 2009, the U.S. Wolves are tagged and tracked to help scientists monitor the endangered species. Both states allow the killing of wolves that repeatedly feed on livestock in areas without federal protections. Wolves are still considered endangered by Washington. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service announced a female gray wolf was found dead on February 5 in Shasta County. Gray wolves are covered under both the Federal Endangered Species Act as well as the California Endangered Species Act, and killing one is punishable for up to one in jail and a $100,000 fine. This isn’t the first time politicians and environmental groups have argued over gray wolves. Another gray wolf, OR-59, was found reportedly shot to death in Northern California in 2018, and his death is still unsolved. Wolf recovery has been so successful that the United States Fish & Wildlife Service removed the western gray wolf from the federal endangered species list on March 28, 2008. Smart News Keeping you current After an 8,700-Mile Journey, an Endangered Gray Wolf Is Found Dead Experts say the wolf, known as OR-54, was looking for a new pack or a mate The population was granted protection in 1974 when they numbered only a few hundred. The wolf, OR-54, was almost 4 years old and made her way into California in 2018. Due to the controversy over wolf shootings, a coalition of environmental groups sued the federal government to put the gray wolf back on the Endangered Species list. Western Great Lakes DPS; Wolf Biology; Wolf Population Size; Wolf Recovery ; Fact Sheets. Gray wolves are endangered both in California and across the Lower 48. Wolves play a key role in keeping ecosystems healthy. Today, there are 3,020 wolves in … News > World > Americas Gray wolves could once again be hunted as they lose endangered status 'The agency is dead set on appeasing special interests who want to kill these amazing animals' Gray wolves are endangered both in California and across the Lower 48. When the gray wolf gained protections under the Endangered Species Act in 1974, the keystone predators had virtually vanished from all but one state. There are believed to be fewer than a dozen wolves living in the state.