Tag: Wolverine

Mystery animal near Yellowstone likely one of area’s rarest critters

Dash-cam footage shows the animal – likely a wolverine – bounding across a snowy road just outside Yellowstone National Park.

A Montana photographer on Tuesday shared blurry dash-cam footage showing a low-profiled animal bounding across a snow-covered road just outside Yellowstone National Park.

Trent Sizemore, based in West Yellowstone, theorized via Facebook that the critter was a wolverine:

“It was dark in color, had a noticeable tail, was the size of a small wolf, but much lower to the ground. It loped across the road more like a wolverine than a wolf.”

(Click here to view footage if video player doesn’t appear below.)

https://www.facebook.com/sizemorefineart/videos/457324234047166

That would represent one of the rarest animal sightings to occur in or near Yellowstone National Park.

The stocky carnivores are solitary and extremely elusive, and only a handful are believed to reside in a greater Yellowstone region that includes vast swaths of Montana and Wyoming.

RELATED: Yellowstone coyote clearly visible, but can you spot the other critter?

A verified wolverine sighting was documented inside the park in March 2022, also in the snow, by the tour group Yellowstone Insight. (Click here to view images from that encounter.)

In January 2021, the park shared month-old trail-cam footage showing a wolverine loping across the snow.

The park stated: “Park biologists were excited to find one of Yellowstone’s rarest mammals triggered a remote trail camera outside the Mammoth Hot Springs area!”

That was the first wolverine footage captured by a trail camera inside the park.

Generic wolverine image courtesy of Wikipedia

West Yellowstone is just outside the park’s West Entrance. Sizemore told the Cowboy State Daily that he was driving his wife to work at 7:30 a.m. when the animal crossed in front of their vehicle.

“My first thought was it was either a coyote or a black wolf,” Sizemore said. “But it was loping across the road, too low to the ground to be a wolf, and I realized it might be a wolverine.”

Sizemore shared the footage with Cat Wood, a biologist who studied wolverines in Alaska. She told the Cowboy State Daily that the animal is likely a wolverine.

“It’s called a loping gallop,” Wood said of a gait that is “very specific to wolverines.”

If, in fact, it was a wolverine, it would represent a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. But Sizemore, of course, would love to get a another look at the animal in more favorable conditions.

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Washington pokes fun at ‘Wolverine State’ before big game

In a not-so-subtle tweet, it was pointed out that Michigan does not have wolverines living in the wild.

Hours before Monday’s CFP National Championship game between the Washington Huskies and Michigan Wolverines, some trash talking focused on nicknames.

“Good morning from the only state playing football today that actually has wolverines,” the Washington State Department of Natural Resources ribbed on X.

Despite the University of Michigan’s nickname, the state does not have an established wolverine population. The last known sighting of a wild wolverine in Michigan occurred in 2004. (Origins of Michigan being labeled the Wolverine State date to the 1800s.)

In Washington State, however, wolverines exist throughout the Cascades and in northeastern Washington, although sightings are rare. (Wolverines are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.)

Aside from being elusive, wolverines are mighty critters known to prey on full-grown deer and chase bears and wolves from their territories.

They are the largest terrestrial members of the weasel family, growing to about 40 pounds. Their nicknames include Skunk Bear, Mountain Devil, and Evil Spirit.

The Washington State DNR’s lighthearted insult received the following response from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources:

“What’s more REMOTE, the places wolverines live in Washington State or the Huskies’ chances of winning the football game?”

Montana boosts reward in wolverine poaching case

Montana authorities are hoping that an increased reward will help them catch the person who killed one of the state’s rarest animals.

Montana authorities are hoping that an increased reward will lead to the identification of the person who killed a protected wolverine – one of the state’s rare animals.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced last week that the wolverine carcass was discovered Nov. 10 on a U.S. Forest Service Road northwest of Wisdom.

The animal had been shot, skinned, and left to waste.

On Monday the Center for Biodiversity announced that it had helped the state increase the reward “for information leading to a successful prosecution” from $1,000 to $11,000.

“The wolverine was shot dead and skinned along a closed U.S. Forest Service road on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest,” the Center for Biodiversity stated via social media. “Scientists estimate wolverine populations in the lower 48 may be fewer than 300 animals, making this death significant.”

The elusive mammals inhabit mostly remote, high-altitude terrain and encounters with humans are rare.

Poacher kills one of Montana’s rarest critters; probe launched

Authorities in Montana are seeking public assistance in identifying the person responsible for the illegal killing of a wolverine.

Authorities in Montana are seeking public assistance in identifying the person responsible for illegally killing a wolverine.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on Thursday said the wolverine carcass was discovered Nov. 10 on U.S. Forest Service Road 7377, northwest of Wisdom.

The animal had been shot, skinned, and left to rot.

Wolverines, described by Fish, Wildlife & Parks as “one of Montana’s rarest animals,” are protected and cannot be legally hunted or trapped.

The stout mammals, which inhabit mostly remote, high-altitude regions of Alaska, Canada, and the northwest continental U.S., are elusive and encounters are rare.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Their populations and movements are poorly understood, but studies have shown that they roam long distances while expanding home ranges.

Wolverines are almost bear-like in appearance and can be ferocious. Fish, Wildlife & Parks states on its website: “Some describe a wolverine as an animal with a thousand pounds of attitude in a 30-pound body.”

According to the National Wildlife Federation, resident populations exist in Alaska, Canada and Russia, as well as Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and a small portion of Oregon.

A wolverine sighting in Yellowstone National Park early last March generated lots of excitement because sightings in the park are so rare.

Wisdom is located about 200 miles northwest of Yellowstone.

–Generic wolverine images courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Rare Oregon critter surfaces again, this time on mountain highway

Another rare wolverine sighting – an encounter captured in footage posted below – has been confirmed in Oregon.

Another rare wolverine sighting – an encounter captured in footage posted below – has been confirmed in Oregon.

The footage shows the stocky animal scurrying down a snowy slope and crossing Highway 20 east of Santiam Pass.

According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, this was among several reported wolverine sightings over the last month.

The first confirmed sighting occurred March 20 when two anglers photographed a wolverine on the bank of McGuire Island on the Columbia River near Portland.

That was the first documentation of a wolverine beyond the state’s Willowa Mountains in 30-plus years.

ALSO: Yellowstone guide captures intriguing moment shared by cougar, elk

Wolverines are not suddenly popping up everywhere, however.

The ODFW stated that based on the locations and timing of recent verified sightings, they might involve the same animal.

Wolverine on the bank of McGuire Island. Photo: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Wolverines are solitary, elusive critters that reside in high-elevation, rugged terrain. They are rarely encountered.

However, younger wolverines can travel as much as 30 miles per day while trying to establish new territory.

The ODFW and Cascadia Wild, a nonprofit that conducts surveys for wolverines on Mt. Hood, have been fielding recent sightings reports.

The ODFW stated this week in a news release:

“Wolverine are rare in Oregon and these sightings are significant to wildlife conservation. The initial sighting along the Columbia River last month was the first confirmed report of a wolverine outside of the Wallowa Mountains in over 30 years.

“The last documented wolverine in the Central Cascades was killed in 1969 by a trapper near Broken Top Mountain. Wolverine is listed as a state threatened species in Oregon and no hunting or trapping of wolverine is allowed.”

Wolverines are the largest members of the weasel family. The burly carnivores, bear-like in appearance, can weigh as much as 30 pounds.

One of Oregon’s rarest critters spotted near Portland

An extremely rare sighting of a wolverine by two anglers in Oregon on Monday has been confirmed by state biologists.

An extremely rare sighting of a wolverine by two anglers in Oregon on Monday has been confirmed by state biologists.

The sighting, which occurred along the Columbia River near Portland, marked the first documentation of a wolverine beyond Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains in 30-plus years.

“Given the proximity to Portland, we were very surprised when this report came in and elated when we were able to verify the sighting,” Dave Keiter, a biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, stated Wednesday in a news release. “We really appreciate the people who reported this rare occurrence and Cascadia Wild who helped us confirm the report and begin monitoring efforts.”

ALSO: Yellowstone elk has perfect response to taunts from a tourist

Wolverines are the largest members of the weasel family. The stocky carnivores, bear-like in appearance, can weigh as much as 30 pounds.

They’re widely distributed in Canada and Alaska, but less common in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.

In their southern range, they reside mostly in high-altitude alpine and forest habitat. Sightings are rare because of the habitat they prefer, but also because wolverines are solitary and elusive.

The anglers who photographed the wolverine on Monday shared their images with Cascadia Wild, which monitors wildlife activity in the Mt. Hood National Forest east of Portland.

ODFW biologists and Cascadia Wild staff visited the observation site Tuesday and discovered wolverine tracks. They placed motion-sensor cameras and hair-collection devices in the hope of obtaining additional footage and samples.

In reference to the wolverine’s proximity to Portland, ODFW stated, “It is likely that this animal was dispersing as the habitat in the area doesn’t meet the life history requirements of wolverines. Wolverines can travel over 30 miles in a day, so it is likely the animal is already long gone from where it was sighted.”

Wolverines were thought to have been eliminated in Oregon by 1936. But sporadic reports of unverified sightings began to occur in several counties beginning in the 1960s.

A wolverine was struck by a vehicle on I-84 near Cascade Locks in 1990, and turned over to ODFW.

In 2010-12, a monitoring project discovered the presence of three wolverines in northeast Oregon, a first for the region.

The most recent documentation of a wolverine in Oregon, before Monday’s sighting, occurred last year in Wallowa County.

–Images courtesy of Cascadia Wild, via ODFW

Tourists spot two of Denali National Park’s rarest critters

Denali National Park and Preserve on Saturday shared images of animals so elusive that even staff and frequent visitors rarely see them.

Denali National Park and Preserve on Saturday shared images of critters so elusive that even staff and frequent visitors almost never see them.

“A rare appearance by two wolverines quickly became the talk of the park this week,” Denali announced on Facebook. “These critters spent part of their day peeking at visitors from a culvert along Denali Park Road.”

The post continued: “Since these animals are so rarely seen, some park staff had to brush up on their wolverine knowledge!”

ALSO: Grizzly bear chases oil-field worker onto top of truck; video

The park explained that wolverines are related to weasels, mink, martens, and otters; that they’re super scavengers “that will eat just about any type of meat they can find.”

Wolverines roam expansive territories, often in rugged terrain, and are solitary except for a short mating period during the summer. So the sight of two wolverines was extraordinary for Denali visitors who observed them.

Pregnant females, according to the park, build snow dens for birthing and nursing.

Because of their solitary, wide-ranging nature, wolverines are extremely difficult to study.

The population in Alaska is stable, but numbers have declined in the western contiguous United States and Canada.

In January 2021, Yellowstone National Park shared its first-ever trail-cam footage of a wolverine, and the footage went viral.

Last March at Yellowstone, a father and daughter on their first trip to the park spotted a wolverine walking across a snowy road. MacNeil Lyons, their tour operator, told FTW Outdoors:

“For the rest of the tour, the 9-year-old daughter couldn’t stop saying, ‘Wow… we saw a wolverine today! She told me it was the most amazing day ever in her life.”

Last April, a trail-cam operator in Canada’s Yukon Territory shared a video compilation featuring amusing wolverine footage captured during a six-month period on multiple trails.

To be sure, trail cameras are the most effective means of capturing footage of wolverines in the wild.

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Officials hope first wolverine collared in Utah will help solve riddle

Wildlife officials captured a wolverine and placed a GPS collar around its neck before releasing it in what is an incredible success story.

In a first for Utah, which has had eight confirmed sightings of wolverines since 1979, wildlife officials captured one of the elusive animals, examined it and placed a GPS collar around its neck before relocating it in what is an incredible success story.

“It’s amazing to get a chance to see a wolverine in the wild, let alone catch one,” said Jim Christensen, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Northern Region Wildlife Manager. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

According to the Utah DWR, the effort began March 10 when personnel from USDA-Wildlife Services conducting livestock protection work from a plane spotted a wolverine feeding on a dead sheep, one of 18 sheep that had been killed or wounded that morning in the area 6 miles west of Randolph.

A DWR biologist and a Utah Department of Agriculture trapper removed all the dead sheep from the area and put some of their remains into two traps.

“There was so much activity in the area that morning, I thought the wolverine would be long gone, and we wouldn’t be able to catch it,” Christensen said.

But at mid-morning the next day, a sheepherder visited the area and noticed the door of one of the traps was down and inside was the first wolverine captured by biologists in Utah.

The traps were retrieved and the wolverine was taken to the DWR’s Ogden office where it was sedated and then examined by biologists. They drew blood, collected hair samples, checked the animal’s teeth and took a series of measurements, all the while monitoring the animal’s heart rate, breathing and temperature.

They also attached the GPS collar to its neck.

“The animal had good, sharp teeth,” Christensen said. “It was in really good condition.”

It was a male 3 or 4 years old and weighed 28 pounds.

After placing it back into the trap, the effects of the drug were reversed and the wolverine was “wide awake and as lively as ever.”

Biologists transported the wolverine to the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains and released it on public land on the evening of March 11.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Rare animal spotted twice in one day—but not in Yellowstone

“Having a collar on this wolverine will teach us things about wolverines in Utah that would be impossible to learn any other way,” Christensen said. “Four different wolverine sightings were confirmed in Utah in 2021. Were we seeing the same animal or different animals last year? Having a collar on this animal will help us solve that riddle.”

The GPS data will provide invaluable information, including when and where the animal travels, the size of its home range and the type of habitats it uses at different times of the year.

Photos courtesy of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Rare animal spotted twice in one day—but not in Yellowstone

A very rare sighting of a wolverine in Lewistown, Montana, was called “crazy” by two witnesses, one of whom captured video of his encounter.

A math teacher and a city worker in Montana were given the rare treat of spotting a wolverine in separate locations of Lewistown on Wednesday morning, this on the heels of a father and daughter seeing one in Yellowstone National Park over the weekend.

Matt Donaldson was on his way to work when he spotted what he originally thought was a dog near the middle school, as reported by the Helena Independent Record.

“It was running through the snow and I said, ‘That’s definitely not a dog,’” he told the Independent Record. “I pulled out my phone and took a photo and my first reaction was, ‘That’s a wolverine.’ It’s definitely crazy. I’ve never seen one before.”

Nick Nowak called his sighting crazy, too.

Nowak, a Lewistown city employee, was checking roads for plowing when he spotted a small, dark animal in a field.

Recalling photos and video of a wolverine spotted recently in Yellowstone National Park, Nowak realized the animal was a wolverine, so he pulled out his phone.

https://www.facebook.com/nick.nowak.714/posts/4935481613196406

“I locked up the brakes and he went into this small little coulee,” Nowak told the Independent Record. “Then I looked up and he was running down the road so I grabbed my phone and got the whole video. It’s pretty crazy.”

Nowak posted photos and the video on Facebook, writing, “Never a dull moment around here, spotted a wolverine at work today up by Tractor Supply.”

Idaho Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Dave Hagengruber told the Independent Record that a veterinarian was put on standby in case the animal, presumably the same one in both sightings, would have to be tranquilized. But the Fergus County Sheriff’s Office told KTVH that the “Wolverine has been pushed out of town and headed away from us.”

Related: Yellowstone’s rarest animal caught on trail camera for first time

“Yeah, it was a shock to see, but it reacted the way we’d hope it’d react and got the heck out of there quickly,” Hagengruber told the Independent Record. “We hope it found its way into a creek bottom and headed back up into the hills.”

Wolverines are solitary and reclusive animals from the weasel family, and sightings are exceedingly rare. “Biologists estimate there are only about a half-dozen wolverines in Yellowstone at any given time, so sightings are far and few in between,” KTVH stated.

Reportedly, there are only an estimated 300 wolverines in the lower 48 states.

Photo courtesy of Matt Donaldson.

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Yellowstone logs year’s first grizzly bear sighting, issues warning

Yellowstone National Park announced Tuesday that it has documented its first grizzly bear sighting of 2022.

Yellowstone National Park announced Tuesday that it has documented its first grizzly bear sighting of 2022.

A pilot conducting a survey over the west-central portion of the park spotted the adult bear walking in a meadow.

An out-of-den grizzly bear sighting, indicating that hibernation season is waning, had been anticipated based on the timing of previous first sightings.

In 2021, the first grizzly bear sighting was logged March 13 by a pilot flying over an undisclosed location. The bear was interacting with wolves that were feeding on a large animal carcass.

In 2020, the first sighting was reported March 7 near Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin.

In 2019, the first known sighting occurred March 8 between Canyon Village and the Fishing Bridge.

ALSO ON FTW OUTDOORS: Yellowstone tourists encounter one of park’s rarest mammals

In a news release issued Tuesday, the park explained that male grizzly bears typically emerge from their dens beginning in early March. Females with cubs wait until April or early May.

“When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter,” the park stated. “Sometimes, bears will react aggressively to encounters with people when feeding on carcasses.”

The park said visitors should exercise caution throughout the park, even on boardwalks around Old Faithful, and have bear spray handy.

“Spring visitors hiking, skiing, or snowshoeing in the park can reduce the chances of encountering bears by avoiding low-elevation winter ranges, thermal areas, and south-facing slopes where bears seek out ungulate carcasses and spring vegetation shortly after emerging from winter dens,” said Kerry Gunther, the park’s bear management specialist.

Yellowstone is in the process of plowing roads in anticipation of the spring and summer tourism season.