The westernmost wolf in the lower 48 states, a lone pioneer wandering hundreds of miles west of any known wolfpack, has apparently found a mate.

OR7, a gray wolf born in eastern Oregon five years ago and later collared by government researchers, became famous when he went on an epic voyage across the state. In 2011 he crossed into California, becoming the first wild wolf in that state since 1924. Since then, he has roamed the Cascades of southern Oregon and northern California, regularly crossing the state line. (Read "Wolf Wars" in National Geographic magazine.)

He seemed doomed to a life of solitude. As recently as this winter, researchers were leaning toward letting him fade from view when the