Wolf OR-7, Family Fittingly Named 'Rogue Pack'

Published January 7, 2015 at 2:31 PM PST

It looks like wolf OR-7 and company will be sticking around southwestern Oregon for a while, so it's time to give 'em a name.

The Daily Tidings reports that OR-7, his lady wolf and their growing pups will now be known as the Rogue pack by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Though the name accurately describes OR-7's early life after he went rouge from his original pack, it is actually derived from the upper Rogue River watershed in Jackson County where the wolf pack is currently living.

OR-7 broke away from Imnaha pack of northeast Oregon back in 2011 and traveled more than 1,200 miles across the state as he searched for a mate. He then crossed into California, making him the first free-roaming wolf in the state since the 1920s.

The newspaper reports that over the past two years, OR-7 has stuck close to his new home in eastern Jackson, western Klamath and southeastern Douglas counties.

In June, USFWS said OR-7 and at least some in his little wolfpack would be collared to monitor the group's movement through the state.

<p>One of the pups in Wolf OR-7's wolf pack.</p> — One of the pups in Wolf OR-7's wolf pack.

<p>Two pups in Wolf OR-7's wolf pack. There could be more.</p> — Two pups in Wolf OR-7's wolf pack. There could be more.

<p>Wolf OR-7's mate photographed, possibly carrying a bone.</p> — Wolf OR-7's mate photographed, possibly carrying a bone.