When a woman said she saw a wolverine on a Washington state beach, a wildlife official didn't believe her

When a woman told a wildlife official she thought she'd seen a wolverine on the beach of Washington state's Long Beach Peninsula they didn't believe her. The elusive creatures live in remote mountainous areas and any sightings -- let alone on a beach -- are rare, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Then she showed them a picture. In the May 23 snap, a furry animal with distinctive markings appears to be eating the carcass of a marine animal that washed ashore. Jeff Lewis, a mesocarnivore conservation biologist with the WDFW, told CNN about the encounter and that he confirmed the animal was indeed a wolverine. There are only around 20 of the mammals in the entire state, according to WDFW. They are usually roaming in the remote mountainous areas of the North Cascades not on the sandy beach. "This is way outside the beaten path for the wolverines," Lewis said. "It's not near the habitats they are usually at." The mysterious wolverine is the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family and it can resemble a small bear with a bushy tail. The animal is stocky with short, rounded ears, small eyes, and large feet that are useful for traveling through snow, according to WDFW. A wolverine was also seen on May 20, walking down a road in Naselle, a town east of Long Beach Peninsula, Lewis said. An observer captured two pictures of it and submitted them to Lewis for confirmation. "Given the oddball nature of these observations," Lewis said. "It seems likely this is the same animal."...MORE

VIDEO - Male and female wolverines documented in the Wind River Range for first time in more than 100 years

The short video starts like most wildlife trail cameras. A creature leaps up the base of a tree from the snow and scurries around its trunk. It’s trying to eat pieces of a dead deer hung by biologists as part of a survey. But in the next short clip, the wolverine disappears. When it reappears, the viewer sees only nose as the wolverine sniffs and plays with the camera. Then the fierce animal, memorialized in comics and folklore, adjusts the trail camera to capture his final act. It climbs back up the tree, spends a few more minutes eating, and then curls up in a ball and rolls down the snowy hill and out of the frame...MORE

https://youtu.be/OeNlMwH9wtQ

Colorado wolverine that went missing confirmed killed in North Dakota

The lone wolverine that wandered Colorado for at least three years has been identified as the animal killed in North Dakota last month. Officials in North Dakota say the wolverine, identified as M56, was harassing livestock when a rancher shot him. A North Dakota state law allows residents to kill furbearers only in protection of livestock, and officials determined the killing of M56 was justified. "It's been a unique story. It has caught the attention of many," said Jeb Williams, division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Wolverine M56 will end his days displayed in a full body mount at a furbearer exhibit in North Dakota's Game and Fish headquarters — the first wolverine in the exhibit...more

First verified North Dakota wolverine since 1870 may have come from Montana

The 30-pound adult male wolverine was shot and killed near Alexander, North Dakota, a town located about 33 miles east of Sidney, Montana, and about 100 miles north west of Dickinson, North Dakota. A ranch hand, Jared Hatter, posted photos to Facebook in late April of the wolverine, saying it was harassing livestock when he shot it. Hatter did not respond to an interview request. North Dakota lists wolverines, the largest member of the weasel family, as furbearers with a closed season. But an overriding state law allows ranchers to kill furbearers considered a direct threat to livestock, said state furbearer biologist Stephanie Tucker. “(Hatter) came out to a calving pasture and the cows had surrounded the wolverine and he felt it was a threat,” she said. North Dakota has no breeding population of wolverines, which in the lower 48 typically occupy remote mountainous regions of the Northern Rockies and Cascades. Because wolverines are known to travel long distances and with populations in Montana and Canada, North Dakota maintains the furbearer status and closed season, Tucker said. Tucker speculated that the wolverine may have come from Montana, and noted a March report from a Hingham-area rancher of a wolverine traveling across a stubble field...more

Wolverines Win Big In Court After Being Denied Endangered Species Protection

On Monday, imperiled wolverines, also known as “mountain devils,” won big in court. A federal judge ruled that they were improperly denied endangered species protection in light of the threat they face from climate change. Conservationists have raised serious concerns that these snow-dependent animals are up against a real threat of extinction because of climate change. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) previously acknowledged that “climate warming over the next century is likely to significantly reduce wolverine habitat, to the point where persistence of wolverines in the contiguous United States, without intervention, is in doubt.” U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said that it appeared “immense political pressure” from Western states helped drive the decision to deny them protection, adding in his opinion, “It is the [Court’s] view that if there is one thing required of the Service under the ESA, it is to take action at the earliest possible, defensible point in time to protect against the loss of biodiversity within our reach as a nation. For the wolverine, that time is now.” While the FWS still has a year to reexamine its conclusion and make a new decision, conservationists are celebrating the win in court and are hopeful wolverines will now get the protection they desperately need...more

Wolverine case being heard in Missoula court asks if FWS made rational decision

In a room packed with wolverine legal experts, U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen may have had the best brief. He actually saw the rare carnivore on three separate occasions. “I don’t know what the odds are of seeing a wolverine three times,” Christensen told the attorneys, “but there’s no reason for any of you to explain it’s a member of the weasel family with large feet that eats marmots. I’ve seen that.” Christensen added he also had read the scientific reports on the wolverine’s habitat and population, was aware of how elusive the animal is and how hard it is to study. What he wanted to know in the case of Center for Biological Diversity et. al. v. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell was whether an agency decision denying Endangered Species Act protection to wolverines was reasonable or arbitrary. Everybody in the Missoula courtroom agreed about 300 wolverines remain in the continental U.S., mostly in Montana. And they agreed that a 2011 study by Rocky Mountain Research Station scientist Kevin McKelvey was a solid block of evidence showing how climatic changes would affect where wolverines can live. What they disputed was whether McKelvey’s study was enough to warrant federal protection for wolverines. The Fish and Wildlife Service decided it wasn’t, and ruled there was not sufficient evidence that wolverines might near extinction without agency action. Preso and Bishop argued there was, noting FWS used the same research in a draft decision granting wolverines protection in 2013, only to reverse course and deny it in the final decision a year later...more

Enviro groups file suit, claim wolverines at risk due to global warming

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Montana charges that federal wildlife managers broke the law and violated the Endangered Species Act in multiple ways when they abandoned consideration of protecting the wolverine. A 38-page complaint was issued by the law firm Earthjustice on Oct. 13 on behalf of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Greater Yellowstone Coalition and six other environmental advocacy groups. The coalition alleges three violations of the Endangered Species Act: a failure to rely on the best available science, an “arbitrary and capricious” evaluation of the species’ listing factors and a failure to recognize threats to the wolverine throughout a significant portion of its range. In a statement the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance said best available science indicates that climate change “will significantly reduce available wolverine habitat over the next century, and imperil the species.”...more

Fish and Wildlife declines to list wolverines as endangered

Not enough evidence of climate harm to list wolverines, says Fish and Wildlife Climate change is a real force disrupting wildlife populations. But for the 300 or so wolverines living in the lower 48, there’s still not enough evidence of present or future danger to protect them under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday. In February 2013, the agency proposed to list wolverines as threatened because climate change is eating away at spring snowpack in the northern Rockies, which in turn will harm wolverines since they raise their young in snowy dens. After more than a year of analysis, the agency officially withdrew its proposal this week. It’s an important listing decision, not only for dictating future wolverine management, but also for gauging the Fish and Wildlife Service’s tolerance for using climate models to list species...more

Official's Interference in Wolverine Protection Slammed by Scientists

A group of independent scientists is speaking out in response to an order from a high-ranking U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official to not protect wolverines under the U. S. Endangered Species Act. The scientists are saying the order ignores the best available science and could set a dangerous precedent for future candidates for ESA protection. That order came in the form of a May 30 memo from Noreen Walsh, a regional director, in which she cited "uncertainty" about the effect of climate change on specific pieces of wolverine habitat as justification for her order to abandon the listing process for the species. But in a letter sent Thursday to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and USFWS director Dan Ashe, a group of 56 wildlife ecologists and conservation biologists say that Walsh's order violates USFWS's obligation to use the best available science. And a second letter sent the same day on behalf of two prestigious scientific organizations echoed that charge. The issue: snow. The wolverine, Gulo gulo, needs deep, persistent snow in order to reproduce, as females of the species dig birthing dens in snowbanks five feet deep or more, and those snowbanks have to last until at least May before melting. Though it's true that climate modeling can't yet predict exactly how deep snowbanks will be under specific trees in the early spring of 2073, scientists have reached consensus that the warmer it gets, the faster snow melts. The warmer North America becomes, the harder it will be to find deep snowbanks that last until May. And that poses a serious threat to an already rare carnivore. Which is what USFWS staff had said in their recommendation that the wolverine be listed as a Threatened species. An assistant regional director working under Walsh drew up a formal memo recommending that listing, which would apparently have been a done deal if not for Walsh's subsequent order to back off...more

Feds Doubt Global Warming’s Impact on Wolverines

A top federal wildlife official said there’s too much uncertainty about climate change to prove it threatens the snow-loving wolverine — overruling agency scientists who warned of impending habitat loss for the “mountain devil.” There’s no doubt the high-elevation range of wolverines is getting warmer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Noreen Walsh said. But any assumption about how that will change snowfall patterns is “speculation,” she said. Walsh told her staff to prepare to withdraw a proposal to protect the animals under the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife advocates said the move was a bow to pressure from Western states that don’t want wolverines protected. Walsh said her stance “has not been influenced in any way by a state representative.” More broadly, it points to the potential limitations in the use of long-range climate forecasts to predict what will happen to individual plant and animal species as global temperatures rise...more

Wolverine photographed in Uinta Mountains

As wildlife biologists scanned photographs taken by a trail camera in the Uinta Mountains last winter, they saw something never captured before in Utah: the first official photos of a wolverine. Kim Hersey, mammals conservation coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said biologists from the DWR and the U.S. Forest Service set four bait stations — monitored by trail cameras — along the north slope of the Uinta Mountains last January. They set the stations to capture images of elusive forest-dwelling carnivores, including wolverines. DWR and Forest Service biologists used snowmobiles to reach the areas and set up the stations. Then, this spring, they started retrieving the cameras. After retrieving the cameras, nothing unusual showed up in photos from the first, third and fourth stations. But images from the second station were a different story: They showed the first wolverine verified in Utah since a wolverine carcass was found in 1979. Hersey says biologists baited the second station with deer that had been killed by cars. Marten, jays, squirrels and a red fox were among the wildlife that raided the station. “The fox took off with the bait,” she said. “All it left behind were the wire wrappings that were supposed to secure the bait to the area.” Even though the bait was gone, the odor the carcasses left behind was enough to attract a wolverine to the area. On Feb. 18, two days after the fox made off with the bait, the camera captured its first image of the wolverine. The animal only stayed in the area about five minutes. That was enough time, though, for the motion-sensing camera to capture 27 images...more

Climate-based wolverine listing delayed by scientific disputes

With thick fur and snowshoe-like feet, wolverines are well-adapted to live in snow caves and run straight up mountains. Their high elevation lifestyles have helped them stay out of harm’s way in recent decades, and stage a slow comeback from the rampant carnivore persecution of the early 1900s. Though elusive and tenacious, they won’t be insulated from human impacts forever. They face a precarious future as climate change eats away at the snowpack they need. That’s why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to add them to the endangered species list, even as a handful of wide-ranging wolverines are venturing into states where they haven’t been seen for generations. The agency was slated to make a listing decision earlier this month as part of a legal settlement with environmental groups. But reputable wolverine biologists have criticized the scientific underpinnings of the agency’s proposed listing decision, especially the parts related to snowpack. Now, the FWS is delaying the decision for another six months so they can reconvene with scientists about wolverine habitat and climate impacts to it. If wolverines are listed, they will join polar bears in having the dubious distinction of receiving federal protection in the name of climate change. Even if that can’t do much to curb climate impacts, it would renew discussions about federal and state wildlife managers reintroducing experimental populations of wolverines in higher elevation refuges like Colorado, to help maximize their survival prospects in the U.S. A listing will also send a strong message about the fragile future of mountain snowpack that so many people depend on for water. But the prospect of a decision based on climate models, rather than more traditional, tangible, threats is already attracting attention...more

Decision on endangered listing for wolverines extended

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials on Tuesday announced a 6-month extension on the decision on whether to list wolverines under the Endangered Species Act. The announcement comes after state wildlife management agencies in the West asked for a delay, saying the science behind the proposal was "faulty" because it was based primarily on climate change. The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies crafted their request for a 90-day extension of the public comment period during a November meeting in Salt Lake City. The Fish and Wildlife Service said in Tuesday’s announcement that the extension is allowed "when there is substantial scientific disagreement regarding the sufficiency or accuracy of the available data relevant to the decision at issue." There had already been one extension of the comment period. The new deadline for a final rule will be Aug. 4, 2014. Wolverines, famous for their wandering ways and ability to survive tough conditions, were eradicated from the lower 48 states by about 1920. Since then, animals from Canada have moved into Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington state. Colorado and California each now have one male wolverine resident...more

Protections for Wolverines Draw States’ Opposition

State officials in the Northern Rockies on Monday lined up against a federal proposal to give new protections to the carnivorous wolverine, as climate change threatens to melt the species' snowy mountain strongholds. A pending U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal would declare the rare, elusive animal a threatened species across the Lower 48 states. That could end trapping for the ferocious member of the weasel family sometimes called the "mountain devil." And it would pave the way for Colorado to reintroduce wolverines in portions of the southern Rocky Mountains as part of a strategy to bolster their numbers ahead of future declines. But Montana, Idaho and Wyoming officials insist federal protections aren't necessary for the estimated 250-300 wolverines that live across the West. Despite their uncertain future prospects, state officials said wolverines are doing well now and don't need federal intervention...more

Montana Wildlife Agency Remains Opposed to Wolverine Protections

Montana wildlife officials have given up on a wolverine trapping season this winter, but want the state excluded from future federal protections for the elusive predators so trapping can be revived. Federal officials are poised to announce by next Friday whether wolverines should get Endangered Species Act protections across the western U.S. That's what government scientists have recommended for years due to habitat threats posed by climate change. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim said Tuesday the animal's population is healthy enough in the state that no additional protections are needed. And even if protections are proposed, Aasheim says Montana will seek authority to continue trapping, on the grounds that the issue is separate from the future perils wolverines face...more