Trail cameras have captured new images of the only wolves known to reside in Oregon’s northern Cascades, experts said Wednesday.

The cameras, which are operated as part of a collaboration between Defenders of Wildlife and Cascadia Wild, caught pictures of the adult canids, believed to be the breeding pair of the White River Pack. The pictures were taken on two separate occasions last month near the Warm Springs Reservation on Mount Hood’s eastern flank.

“It’s exciting,” said Sristi Kamal, senior representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “It shows that we have prime habitat on this side of the state.”

Oregon is home to at least 137 wolves, according to the most recent count, but the vast majority of them are clustered in the northeast corner of the state. The only other pack known to live on the west side of Oregon is the Rogue Pack, whose territory straddles Jackson and Klamath counties.

In 2017, two wolves were observed in southern Wasco County and, by the next year, they had given birth to a litter of pups. It was the first established pack in the northern Cascades since wolves had been extirpated from the state in the mid 20th century.

In 2019, the pack added six more pups. With three yearlings, six pups and the breeding pair, the pack is now estimated to number 11 wolves.

-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048

@sfkale

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