Lone Wolf Outfoxes Hunters

A young wolf has become a celebrity while evading capture – dead or alive – in an epic search for a mate.

The animal has traced a zigzag path across 730 miles (1200km) of mountains, deserts and highways, from Oregon to the California border.

He left his turf on September 10 just before state officials issued a death warrant on members of his pack – including his alpha male father – for killing cattle.

Known only as OR-7, may be the target of a poacher, rancher or government hunter. His progress has been tracked thanks to a GPS collar he was fitted with by a state biologist last February.

A competition has been launched to change his name to something more people-friendly – and make him too famous to be shot. The first entry, from a little girl in OR-7’s home territory, is already catching on: Whoseafraida.