Game and Fish surveys Wyoming’s remote landscapes in search of wolverines - Buckrail

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The project is looking to compare wolverine occupancy between the survey periods. Photo: Hans Veth

WYOMING — Once again, Wyoming Game and Fish Department researchers are venturing into Wyoming’s remote landscapes in search of the rarely-sighted wolverine.

In Wyoming, wolverine habitat occurs at high elevations, often in designated wilderness. This rugged terrain can be challenging to access in winter.

However, a team of biologists is taking on the challenge and placing trail cameras and wire brushes in hopes of catching a glimpse of wolverines throughout the state’s western mountains and the Bighorn and Snowy Range Mountains. Trail cameras provide data on wolverine presence while wire brushes are designed to snag a few hairs from passing animals that can be used for DNA analysis.

Wolverines live in habitats with limited amounts of food so individual animals require hundreds of square miles to live and reproduce. This means the number of animals living in a given area is extremely low.

Previously, this project was run for two consecutive winters beginning in 2015/16. During those winters at least six unique wolverines were detected over the 51 monitoring areas. In those years the project was focused on gathering basic information about population distribution and occupied range in the state.

“This work added significantly to our knowledge of wolverine distribution in the state. We documented individuals in the Wind River and Absaroka Mountains, but interestingly not in Yellowstone National Park or the Wyoming, Salt, or Teton Mountains where they have also been documented historically,” said Nongame Supervisor Zack Walker.

Walker continued, “However, DNA results from wolverine hair samples in these two previous winters revealed two unique females outside of the current predicted breeding distribution area. This might indicate an expansion of wolverine within the state. We hope that during the current monitoring effort we will see additional individuals in these areas or possible signs of reproduction”

Now, five years later, the project is looking to compare wolverine occupancy between the survey periods. Monitoring sites will remain active into April as females begin ranging farther from their den sites, but project biologists have already begun to detect wolverines this winter.

About The Author

Buckrail @ Caroline

Caroline Chapman is a Community News Reporter. She enjoys reading non-fiction, skiing, hiking, and playing piano in her downtime. Her favorite aspect about living in Jackson is the genuine admiration that Wyomingites share for the land and the life that it sustains.