A wolverine was photographed by a trail camera on April 2, 2011 after being attracted to a camera site baited with a road-killed deer. Audrey Magoun photo.
They look like a couple of teenaged delinquents caught on security cameras.
But these new photos from ODFW are adding to a small pile of evidence that wolverines are back in Oregon and might be here to stay.
The first big news came out Friday when a wolverine researcher reported she found wolverine tracks in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Wallowa County. All by itself – this was pretty impressive. They’re the first confirmed wolverine tracks ever in Wallowa County and one of the few signs of wolverines anywhere in Oregon since the 1930s.
The new photos make this even more impressive. They show two wolverines at remote camera sites in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest feeding on road kill deer. Digitially captured more than a week apart, researcher Dr. Audrey Magoun says these are two different animals. Still unanswered – their genders.
Magoun and fellow researcher/husband Pat Valkenburg have been exploring the area around the Eagle Cap Wilderness since January. Winter is the best time to spot wolverines and the pair plan to continue their research next year.
A second wolverine was photographed at a baited camera station on April 13, 2011. Audrey Magoun photo.
Wolverine Bullet Points:
- Once widespread throughout North America, there are only a few hundred known to exists in the Lower 48 states.
- The nearest breeding populations are in the Northern Cascades of Washington and the Payette Forest of Idaho.
- Wolverines were nearly wiped out by trapping and poisoning.
- Despite the low numbers, they are not protected by the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says wolverines deserve protection, but that there are many other species that are more worthy. So the wolverine must wait.
Funding and logistical support for the survey comes from an Oregon Conservation Strategy Implementation Grant (federal State Wildlife Grant), The Wolverine Foundation, Inc., the Wildlife Conservation Society and private individuals including Magoun and Valkenburg, Alaska residents, who use their own plane for aerial surveys.
