Wildlife officials from the state of California said that a wolverine was seen three times last month in the eastern Sierra Nevada. This is a rare sighting for an animal that has only been seen once in California in the last 100 years.
Even though wolverines are native to California, they haven’t been seen there much since the 1920s. This is likely due to hunting and fur trapping in the years after the gold rush, though records from the time don’t say for sure what happened.
From 2008 to 2018, one wolverine was seen in the state. It was first seen in the Tahoe National Forest. Wolverines usually live for 12 to 13 years, so the one from last month is possibly a different one.
The tweet below verifies the news:
A wolverine was spotted three times last month in the eastern Sierra Nevada, a rare occurrence for an animal that’s only been seen one other time in California over the last 100 years, state wildlife officials said. https://t.co/Ot20TAknwH
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 5, 2023
The most recent Wolverine looks like a young guy looking for a mate. The animal has been seen three times in Yosemite National Park and twice in the Inyo National Forest.
“It’s just really exciting and surprising,” said Daniel Gammons, a senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Gammons said that this winter’s heavy snowfall in the West may have made “habitat bridges” for wolverines. This is because male wolverines walk through huge areas that are easily hundreds of square kilometers. The animal could have come from as far away as Canada or Alaska. It could have come from the Rocky or Cascade mountain ranges.
If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I suggest checking out the following links:
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Wildlife officials are trying to get a hair or poop sample from a Wolverine so they can test its genes. The California Endangered Species Act says that this species, which is the largest land-based member of the weasel family, is threatened.
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