The Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division is looking for the person or people who fatally shot a collared wolf in northeastern Oregon last week, and conservation groups have offered a $11,500 reward to anyone whose tip leads to an arrest or citation.
A 2-year-old female wolf known as OR-112, part of the Keating Pack, was found Friday near an embankment in the forest seven miles north of Halfway, Oregon. Troopers believe she was shot the day before.
The Oregon Wildlife Coalition and its partners have offered the award.
Another two-year-old wolf was found dead in eastern Oregon in January after it was hit by a car. Officials originally believed she had died of a gunshot wound.
In 2021, the state’s annual animal count showed a small increase in the wolf population, with the minimum number of wolves increasing from 170 to 172. At least 26 wolves died in the state last year, up from 10 the previous year, according to the report.
Humans were responsible for 21 of those deaths.
Police ask anyone with information to contact OSP through the Turn in Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP (*677), or email TIP@osp.oregon.gov and reference case number SP22201971.
