Researchers unite for rare wolverine study

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Researchers are working on a plan to study wolverines in four Rocky Mountain states to see if the animals that look like small bears with big claws can be reintroduced to boost their numbers and see how they might travel between mountain ranges.

Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington are working together because there are so few wolverines, and they are spread across a wide area, a researcher with Montana’s wildlife agency said.

“It doesn’t occur that often that four states start to think about managing a species together,” said Bob Inman, carnivore and fur bearer coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The study is expected to begin in the winter using trail cameras to capture images and copper brushes to collect DNA when the animals pass by. The work will be done in the winter when bears are hibernating, so researchers can focus on the wolverines.

Wolverines are rarely seen by humans, and roam in deep snow and steep terrain. There are now as many as 300 in the four states.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are helping pay for the study.

“We’re identifying places that are good habitat that don’t have wolverines, so we might be able to put them there to increase population size,” Inman said.

Under the plan, the states will come up with a wolverine habitat map that will be useful for land trust organizations working with private landowners on conservation easements to prevent development.