Wolverine spotted for the second time ever in California in the last 100 years

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 – likely the result of hunting and fur trapping in the decades following the gold rush, though records from the time don’t indicate what exactly caused the population to decline.

This May 2023 image released by the National Park Service shows a rare wolverine sighting in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.The latest wolverine appears to be a young male seeking a mate. The animal has been spotted twice in the Inyo National Forest and once in Yosemite National Park. Male wolverines walk through huge territories – easily several hundred square kilometers – and this winter’s heavy snowfall in the West may have created “habitat bridges” for the wolverine, Gammons said. The animal could have traveled from the Rocky and Cascade mountain ranges, or from as far away as Canada or Alaska.

These traits, along with their snowshoe-like feet and dense fur, make them highly adapted to snowy arctic and sub-arctic environments. Snow seems to be particularly important to mother wolverines, who consistently choose the deepest snow available to make their dens in snow tunnels or under snow-covered rocks or logs between February and April.

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