A young wolf traveling hundreds of miles in search of a mate and territory was spotted several times Saturday along roads in and near Crater Lake National Park, six days after two close encounters along Cascade Lakes Highway in the Deschutes National Forest.
The four-legged long-hauler is OR-213, a 16-month-old dispersing wolf that recently left the Indigo Pack in the Diamond Lake area. Young wolves commonly leave their family packs as they approach breeding age, traveling through unfamiliar country until they find another wolf and a place to establish a territory. There is no predetermined destination or direct route.
The distance OR-213 has traveled is typical for a dispersing wolf, but his repeated appearances near busy roads at all hours and in plain sight have worried wildlife officials and members of the public alike.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fitted OR-213 with a tracking collar in late June. He weighed 77 pounds and was lean but otherwise appeared to be in normal condition, according to Aaron Bott, an ODFW wolf biologist.
OR-213 was the last known survivor of the Indigo Pack’s 2025 litter. His parents produced another litter in April.
Since leaving the pack, OR-213 has traveled hundreds of miles. He moved north from the Diamond Lake area to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, turned south toward his original range and then headed north again. Dani Deming, Oregon’s state wolf coordinator, previously said his departure and rapid movement were typical for a dispersing wolf.
His latest travels brought him back to the southern Cascades, near the Indigo Pack’s territory where his journey began.
Five sightings in one day
The Oregonian/OregonLive found Facebook posts from four people who photographed or recorded OR-213 on Saturday along roads in and near Crater Lake National Park. Another person reached out after this story was published online.
ODFW has also received numerous reports, though Bott said many came from people forwarding the same social media posts and videos rather than reporting separate encounters.
The earliest of the five known sightings came at 7:50 a.m. Saturday, when Francie Skinner and a friend spotted OR-213 trotting along a road as they drove to hike Union Peak in the Crater Lake area. Skinner said the wolf seemed unconcerned by their vehicle.
About an hour later, Tom Dirmeikis crossed paths with OR-213 and photographed the pavement-pacing wolf along a forested roadside inside the park. A day later, Dirmeikis said he was “still buzzin from the experience.”
The other three sightings occurred after dark.
After seeing her friend Dirmeikis’ photos on Facebook, Larkynn Tupper drove through the park that night and found OR-213 lying beside a highway. Her video shows the wolf rise, look toward the headlights and walk onto the pavement with a slight hitch in his stride.
“I am kinda sad,” Tupper wrote on Facebook. “He seems to maybe have been hit by a car or something, and seems to be limping.”
Scott Walter snapped a blurry photo of OR-213 along a dark roadside from a distance. He wrote on Facebook that the wolf was “enjoying the full moon and running slowly” and “looked like a female with a tracker collar… pretty thin and tired…”
Dan Foster encountered OR-213 at 9:15 p.m. after leaving the park. His photos and videos show the wolf standing along the shoulder, crossing the pavement and walking along the double yellow centerlines as Foster followed slowly in his vehicle.
Bott said OR-213 appears to have a mild limp when he first stands in Tupper’s video but seems to walk it off quickly. More reassuring, he said, is that the collar shows the animal traveled roughly 100 miles over the past seven days, strongly suggesting nothing is preventing him from moving normally across the landscape. ODFW will continue monitoring his condition and movements.
The Saturday sightings came six days after two Bend couples encountered OR-213 along Cascade Lakes Highway, roughly 20 miles southwest of Bend. Both encounters lasted about 20 minutes. OR-213 approached the couples’ vehicles, lingered nearby and was nearly struck by a passing truck.
A rare sight in Oregon
Seeing a wild wolf in Oregon is about as rare as hen’s teeth. Most people have never seen one, and most never will.
Oregon went roughly 50 years without a confirmed wolf sighting before a lone wolf crossed into the state from Idaho in 1999. Nine years later, Oregon’s first wolf pack with pups was documented in northeastern Oregon.
At the end of 2025, ODFW confirmed a minimum of 230 wolves statewide and documented 30 packs and 23 breeding pairs. The figure includes only animals wildlife officials could verify. ODFW says the actual population is higher.
Even with that recovery, wolves generally avoid people. OR-213 stands out for how often people have encountered him near roads and vehicles.
Life as a lone wolf
ODFW documented nine radio-collared wolves dispersing in 2025. Seven remained in Oregon and two left the state. The actual number of dispersing wolves is unknown because most Oregon wolves do not wear tracking collars.
OR-213 could travel much farther before his search ends. Oregon’s most famous long-distance traveler, OR-7, crossed into California before returning to southwestern Oregon, finding a mate and establishing the Rogue Pack.
His daughter, OR-54, covered more than 7,646 miles after leaving the Rogue Pack in 2018. Her travels carried her through nine California counties, briefly into Nevada and back to Oregon twice before she died in Northern California in 2020.
Traveling alone brings its own dangers. Dispersing wolves cross unfamiliar territory occupied by cougars and other wolves defending established ranges. Hunting is also more difficult without a pack, especially in late summer when wolves are generally at their leanest and elk and other prey remain strong.
Why OR-213 keeps returning to roads
The roadside sightings provide a skewed picture of his journey.
“He isn’t simply hanging around highways and vehicles,” Bott said. “He is moving extensively across a much larger forested landscape, with occasional periods when his movements bring him back near roads.”
When the lone road traveler returns to pavement, food appears to be a major attraction. Bott said OR-213 has been scavenging animals killed by vehicles and seems to have learned that roads can provide relatively easy meals that do not fight back.
ODFW is also concerned that someone may intentionally or unintentionally feed such a visible wolf. Feeding can teach a wolf to associate people and vehicles with food, making it more likely to approach them again.
That risk grows as photos and videos spread online and people drive through the area looking for OR-213. More vehicles mean more chances for a collision and more opportunities for him to become accustomed to people.
Feeding wolves is prohibited. ODFW urges people not to approach, follow or offer food to OR-213.
The agency has attempted to haze him away from roads several times using loud noises and other noninjurious methods. Those include pepper-ball launchers, which fire paintball-style projectiles containing capsaicin powder. The goal is to make lingering near roads, vehicles and people unpleasant.
Danger from traffic and people
“At this point, our biggest concern continues to be the risk of him being struck by a vehicle when he does spend time near roads,” Bott said.
Three Oregon wolves died in vehicle collisions during 2025, including one struck along Highway 97. OR-93 covered at least 935 miles in California in 2021 before a vehicle struck and killed him near Lebec, about 75 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
OR-213 has repeatedly approached or remained near stopped vehicles, but that does not mean he is aggressive or fully habituated. Dangerous wolf encounters remain extremely rare, and there is no indication he currently poses a threat.
Because OR-213 is traveling through western Oregon, where wolves remain federally protected, any decision involving lethal removal would ultimately involve the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bott said such a discussion might be warranted if a wolf presented a significant threat to people or its condition deteriorated enough to justify euthanasia for humane reasons.
“We have not seen either of those situations with OR-213,” he said.
ODFW is coordinating with the federal agency while continuing to monitor OR-213’s movements, behavior and condition.
Continued close encounters could still bring the unusually visible wolf near someone willing to harm him. Kayla Cook, one of the Bend-area witnesses, voiced that concern as his photos spread online.
“I just don’t want some dummy to go out there and try to hurt it,” Cook said.
Cook’s concern follows four illegal or suspected wolf killings in Oregon last year. All four animals were breeding males.
OR-86, a member of the Frazier Pack, disappeared in January. His severed radio collar was recovered Jan. 29 along Catherine Creek Lane, about 11 miles southeast of Union.
Two others were illegally killed. A member of the Metolius Pack was found dead near Sisters on March 10, and a member of the Yamsay Mountain Pack was found Oct. 7 on public land north of Yamsay Mountain in Lake County.
The fourth, a member of the Noregaard Pack, was poisoned. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has not disclosed when or where it was found.
Wolves are protected throughout Oregon, and OR-213 is federally protected as an endangered species while traveling through western Oregon. Unlawfully killing a wolf is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
ODFW advises people to remain at least 100 yards from wolves and never approach, follow or feed them. Sightings can be submitted through the agency’s online wolf-reporting form or reported by calling 503-947-6000 or 800-720-6339. Anyone who sees a wolf near a developed area or approaching people should also notify the local land manager.
No one knows where OR-213 is headed. He doesn’t need directions, an audience or a handout — just room to keep moving.
