Study finds Glacier National Park home to about 40 wolverines

A recent ongoing study indicates that about 40 wolverines are living in Glacier National Park, a U.S. Forest Service biologist says. Rick Yates said that a study that started in January to collect wolverine fur samples is providing DNA samples from the secretive mammals. "Glacier really is the premier place to carry out wolverine research because of the density of the population there," Yates told the Missoulian. There are "two to three times as many wolverines as there would be farther north." The study is being carried out by Glacier wildlife biologist John Waller and more than 50 volunteers who head into the park's remote backcountry to collect fur samples wolverines leave on wire brushes attached to bait posts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in December listed wolverines as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act based on the threat of climate change...more