It has been a busy year for a young wolverine known as F133.
After researchers fit her with a tracking device last spring, she wandered the Gallatin Range from end to end, through parts of the Madison Range, into Yellowstone National Park and then just outside the park's southeastern corner near Thoroughfare Creek.
It may seem grueling, but for the dogged and solitary wolverine, journeys through the region's most unforgiving terrain are the secret to survival.
"It's the epitome of the rugged individual," said Bob Inman, an Ennis-based wolverine researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
His study of F133 and other wolverines in the Yellowstone area is one of three in the region to get a better handle on the most mysterious and elusive predator in the Northern Rockies.
The work is the first widespread attempt to see how and where wolverines live, and it may help the federal government decide whether to intervene to ensure the animal's survival.
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it would collect evidence over the next year or so before deciding whether to place the wolverine on the endangered-species list.
"Sightings of wolverines are rare to begin with. That's one reason we don't have a lot of information on this particular animal," said Diane Katzenberger, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Denver.
No one has a firm idea how many wolverines are out there. Based on studies in recent years, Inman guessed that the area in and around Yellowstone might hold fewer than 150.
Wolverines, one of the rarest and least-understood predators in North America, once populated the upper tier of the U.S., from Maine to Washington. Trapping, loss of habitat and other factors have significantly reduced their numbers.
Biologists say the wolverine exists in remote wilderness areas in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming - including portions of Yellowstone and Glacier national parks - and possibly smaller slivers of Washington and Oregon.
In 2000, several environmental groups asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to begin an intensive study of whether the wolverine needs federal protection. The agency denied the petition three years later, as it did with a 1994 request, saying there wasn't enough information to justify such a study.
Last fall, a federal judge in Missoula said the Fish and Wildlife Service was wrong to reject that petition and ignore "substantial scientific information" indicating the wolverine may need federal protection.
The agency says it will make a decision by February 2008.
Inman said he expects to share information from his study of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, which started in 2001, with agency officials next week.
Researchers use live traps to capture wolverines, implant a tracking device and, in some cases, fit them with a GPS collar.
The devices have provided some eye-opening details.
One intrepid wolverine covered nearly 550 miles in seven weeks in 2002, roaming through three states, two national parks and eight mountain ranges.
"They're tremendous travelers ... constantly on the move," said Kerry Murphy, a National Park Service biologist who is heading a study of wolverines in the Absarokas that has captured three males and a female over the past two winters.
They prefer high-elevation spots - one spent a year at an average elevation of 10,400 feet above sea level - and eke out a living on small rodents, birds, marmots and even deer or elk.
So far, Inman says he and his crew have caught 28 wolverines since 2001.
"The niche they occupy is a pretty harsh environment where it's frozen most of the year," he said. "So in order to make a living in that type of habitat, they have to travel and utilize a very large area over the course of a year."
Wolverines have been trapped in most forested mountain ranges in Montana, which is the only state that allows trapping. On average, about 10 are taken each year during the December-to-February trapping season, according to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Because wolverines are so solitary and slow-breeding, there are concerns about whether there's enough fresh genetic material and intermixing with other wolverine populations, Inman said.
Wolverines in the lower 48 exist in "island" populations and need wild areas they can travel through to connect with one another. Public lands may provide safe passage for wolves at higher elevations, but low-lying valleys are often controlled privately, which elevates the importance of conservation easements if wolverine populations are going to intermix, Inman said.
"If wolverines are going to be conserved, it's going to be through partnerships with private folks," Inman said.
Published on Thursday, June 14, 2007. Last modified on 6/14/2007 at 12:47 am
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Great read! We truly need a greater understanding about these mammals and whether or not to stop trapping them. I foresee them being put on the ESL, but only time will tell. Find out more at www.wolverinefoundation.org
From my own observations, and association with trappers, I suspect we lose far more than 10 wolverines each year. Some guys just poach them, some guys put out numerous sets, which they check infrequently. Some times they are caught in Martin sets. Some get shot by hunters. The truth is very little is known about these tough and lonesome critters. I also suspect they operate similiar to their badger cousins, and have a more or less consistent course they travel on a schedule; they just range a much bigger course, limited more by geography than endurance. When wolverines are gone, 'wild' is gone, and even Wilderness (capital W) is a misnomer.
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