HomeMy Public PortalAboutWildlife: WolverinesWolverines captured, collared by researchers
Researcher
Tony
Fulsom
holds up
"Larry," a
wolverine
weighing in
at about 30
pounds and
estimated
tobe2to4
years old.
Photo by Rocky
Mountain
Research
Station
Four wolverines living on the Payette National
Forest have been captured, fitted with tracking
collars, and released back into the wild as part of
research into how the animals respond to human
activities in remote areas of the forest.
"All of the wolverines are beautiful,
healthy adults, and they will provide us with
important information about their activities
and movements," said Kin Heinemeyer, leader
of the research effort.
The traps used to capture the animals are
hand -built of logs and are roomy, warm and safe,
Heinemeyer said.
The animals were anesthetized for 30 to 40
minutes, during which a GPS collar was attached
to record the animal's location, hair is taken for
DNA analysis, and a small ear tag placed to he4k
identify the animal in the future.
Efforts to enlist the public to report wolverine
sightings are also meeting with success, she
said.
"The response has been amazing. Many
people have volunteered to participate and
are interested in what we are trying to do,"
Heinemeyer said. The Payette project is part
of a large research effort led by the Rocky
Mountain Research Station that spans three
national forests and is intended to learn more
about how wolverines react to human activities
in their winter habitat and during the denning
and kit -raising period.
See WOLVERINES, Page B-12
Wolverines
(Continued from Page B-1)
Other partners on the
project include the Idaho
Department of Fish and
Game, Idaho State Snowmobile
Association, Central Idaho
Recreation Coalition and
BrundageMountainResort, as
well as the Payette, Sawtooth
and Boise national forests.
After a couple of years, the
research will move to another
area on one of the three
national forests to increase
the number of wolverines
tracked, researchers said.
Several area businesses
have volunteered to provide
drop-off locations for data -
logging units and are offering
discounts or even a free drink
to people who turn in the
devices.
Participating businesses
are Hinson Power Sports,
Gravity Sports, McCall
Brewery, Salmon River
Brewery and Carl's Cycle in
Boise.
Also, everyone who carries
a device will be entered into
a drawing for a daypack,
avalanche transceiver, shovel
and probe donated by Black
Diamond, Gravity Sports,
CIRC and the ISSA.
Drop boxes for the devices
are also at the McCall
Ranger District and Idaho
Fish and Game office. For
more information, contact
idahowolverine@gmail.com.
Researchers track the elusive wolverine on Payette fores
BY DIANE EVANS MACK
For The Star -News
After eight months of quiet inactivity, small
log cabins are back in service in the wilds of
central Idaho. But don't expect to make a res-
ervation for a back -country ski vacation, these
cabins are not for human guests.
They're designed to entice hungry or just
plain curious wolverines to hop in, tug on some
bait, and close the lid on themselves. In doing so,
these enigmatic animals become key players in a
research study initiated last winter on the Pay-
ette National Forest to examine the interactions
between winter recreation and wolverines.
There is concern that remote areas wolverines
occupy are no longer truly remote in winter due
to increasing recreational activity. This changing
human presence potentially could affect wolver-
ines, especially where females are denning or
raising their young, known as kits.
A research project looking at this question is
led by Kim Heinemeyer of Round River Conser-
vation Studies and John Squires of the Forest
Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game is a
partner, as are the Payette, Boise and Sawtooth
national forests, Idaho State Snowmobile As-
sociation, Central Idaho Recreation Coalition,
Brundage Mountain Resort, University of
Montana, The Wolverine Foundation, and Val-
ley County.
Tracking wolverines is one piece of the
puzzle. Winter recreationists are the other. Last
year, back country skiers and snowmobilers
voluntarily wore small GPS data loggers and
contributed more than 700 individual tracks that
mapped where and when they traveled.
When overlaid on the movements of six col-
lared wolverines, these data began to show how
these groups interact. Yet this kind of study
requires several years in multiple locations.
Remote Cameras Used
On the Sawtooth forest, remote cameras
and hair snagging brushes are collecting
wolverine images and DNA as a first step to
trapping next year.
See WOLVERINE, Page A-3
Photo by Chris Klingler
A remote camera captures an adult wolverine
investigating a trap. Captured animals are fitted
with radio tracking collars and released.
Wolverine
(Continued from Page A-7)
The Payette forest study
area was expanded to the Warm
Lake area of the Boise forest.
So far, two new wolverines, an
adult male and an adult female,
are "on the air" with radio
collars.
North of McCall, five of the
six animals captured last year
survived the summer and fall
and were recaptured and col-
lared again.
Two new animals in this
area also have been collared,
one of which may be a kit from
one of last year's female study
animals.
Field work will continue
through April, when the ani-
mals will be captured again to
remove collars.
(Diane Evans Mack is a
regional wildlife biologist for
the Idaho Dept. of Fish and
Game's Southwest Region.)
Payette wolverine
research enters
its second year,
expands study area
The second year of
research on the elusive
wolverine on the Payette Na-
tional Forest has expanded
its study area.
The extent of the study
was expanded to include
more area around Burgdorf
and also the Warm Lake
drainage on the Boise Na-
tional Forest.
The crew of 12 full-time
and part-time technicians
and volunteers is based in
McCall and Stanley along
with four volunteer interns.
This year's field season will
continue through the end
of April
The team has 10 animals
"on the air" with radio col-
lars with all six of last year's
animals being recaptured
along with four new animals,
a news release said.
Among those re -captured
was "`Larry," the large resi-
dent male that was captured
last year in the Hazard Lakes -
Granite Lake area, and"Sid"
and "Mo" who sometimes
travel through the Lick
Creek area.
`Lucy' May Have Kits
"Lilly," "Lucy," and "Bel-
la" were also re -captured
and are in good health. The
team suspects that Lucy
may have had kits last year
and they have aptured and
collared Jenny, who may be
her daughter.
The team has captured
two new males, "Sergio" in
the Hazard Lakes -Granite
Lakes area, and "Mason" in
the Warm Lake area.
I "Tess," a new adult fe-
male, has also been collared
in the Warm Lake area.
The team is using a new
satellite -based trap trans-
mitter which sends e-mail
messages with trap status
daily and immediately when
a trap is triggered.
This is a big improvement
and is resulting in less stress
for the animals and quicker
responses from the team.
The team is fairly certain
that Lilly, Lucy and Jenny
are not denning this year.
They are not sure if Bella
is denning as they have just
recently found her about 25
miles south of where she was
The team is using a
new satellite -based
trap transmitter
which sends e-mail
messages with trap
status daily and
immediately when a
trap is triggered.
of participating businesses
please go to wwwforestcar-
nivores.org and click the
"wolverine" tab.
The team completed an
aerial recreation survey
across the extent of the
Payette and Boise forest
study areas in early March
and they hope to complete
one over the Stanley area
duringthe next patch of clear
weather.
The team cited "phe-
nomenal" support from the
community. One example
was after the big snowfall
in mid -January when team
members were worried
about their ability to break
trail into some of the more
remote trap areas.
Expert Riders Found
The team contacted San-
dra Mitchell at the Idaho
Snowmobile Association,
who gave them the names
of some expert McCall area
sledders. Through this con-
tact the team found a rider
who was able to get them
to a couple of the harder -to
-reach traps.
The team has developed
a list of expert riders who
could help break trail on big
snow days.
To learn more about the
wolverine and the research
project, gotowwwforestcar-
nivores.org.
AAAAAAA lAl[lLGly W11C11
a trap is triggered.
This is a big improvement
and is resulting in less stress
for the animals and quicker
responses from the team.
The team is fairly certain
that Lilly, Lucy and Jenny
are not denning this year.
They are not sure if Bella
is denning as they have just
recently found her about 25
miles south of where she was
trapped. Tess is denning, and
the team is pleased with this
development.
More than 700 people who
carried wolverine logs while
they traveled in the forest
turned them in at parking
lot drop boxes or local busi-
nesses.
All data collected remains
anonymous and the team
does not take any personal
information from the data
loggers.
Fourteen businesses in
McCall, Cascade, and New
Meadows are offering ev-
erything from a free beer Southwest Idaho Resource
to a free cinnamon roll for Advisory Committee, and
bringing in a log. For a list the Forest Service.
1GUUG1 J. 1111 V US11 1111J 1.V11-
tact the team found a rider
who was able to get them
to a couple of the harder -to
-reach traps.
The team has developed
a list of expert riders who
could help break trail on big
snow days.
To learn more about the
wolverine and the research
project, go to wwwforestcar-
nivores.org.
All project newsletters,
updates and documents are
posted on the Web site.
Project partners in-
clude The Rocky Mountain
Research Station, Valley
County, Round River Con-
servation Studies, Brundage
Mountain Resort and the
Central Idaho Recreation
Coalition.
Other partners are the
Idaho State Snowmobile
Association, The University
of Montana, The Wolverine
Foundation, Idaho Depart-
ment of Fish and Game, The
Ink A w aft,
Back To Index/Menu
G cameras capture elusive wolverine near McCall
Study tries to determine where solitary animals live
BY ROGER PHILLIPS
for The Star -News
The forest floor has a thick blanket of snow topped by a layer of bone -chilling air that's so still a
creaking tree sounds like an air horn.
It appears all animals have abandoned the forest for
warmer dimes, but Idaho Department of Fish and Game
biologist Diane Evans Mack's remote cameras tell a different
story.
Only a tiny fraction of the public has ever encountered a
wolverine, and it's difficult to determine how many are out
there.
The fish and game department is trying to learn where
wolverines live, or at least, where they are likely to live.
It is part of a four -state project with Wyoming, Montana
and Washington to predict the likelihood that wolverine
inhabit certain areas.
Each camera site has the same model of camera, the
same bait of a deer or elk leg, and the same array of four
wire brushes that jut out from the trunk. Hm,1,u..m>Idaho Ikwrimmto+HMI and t:m"
An Idaho Fish and Game camera niches an elusive
The brushes catch hair as the animals climb the trunk to wolverine eating from a frozen deer leg placed as
bait about t2 miles northeast or McCall.
give biologists a genetic sample so they can tell if more than
one wolverine visited the site. From the data, biologists will generate a "probability of occupancy map."
F&G wildlife technicians Luke Ferguson of McCall and Peter Ott of Marsing ride snowmobiles and ski
into remote sites that are typically between 7,000 and 9,000 feet during some of the most inhospitable
winter weather.
"It's a lot of fun and real rewarding, but it's not easy," Ott said.
Stinky Lure
Besides the deer leg, an additional lure is a sponge saturated with a viscous blend of skunk scent and
beaver castor, which is a combo that smells as pungent as it sounds.
"So far, we've had an animal of some variety on every camera," Ferguson said.
Aside from wolverines, their cameras have captured fishers, martens, birds, foxes, coyotes, wolves
and even deer before the snow got too deep.
One of the 61 camera sites in Idaho is about 12 miles northeast of McCall, an area where wolverines
have been known to inhabit in recent years.
Recently, the camera recorded at least one wolverine and American marten that consumed an entire
deer leg during a series of visits.
If it was a male wolverine, chances are good it was the only one in the area. Males are highly territorial
and can claim up to 500 square miles.
Previous research in the McCall area showed a dear demarcation line between two adjacent males'
territories.
During winter, wolverines largely switch from carnivores to scavengers, and they're experts at finding
and consuming carrion, which explains how a frozen deer leg was devoured like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Wolverines can find food beneath a thick layer of snow, and they even have a specialized upper molar
in the back of their mouths that helps them chew meat that's frozen solid.
(Roger Phillips is a public information specialist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.)
Travelers to the McCall Winter Carnival on Friday were
delayed when a semi -truck slid off the highway south of
Banks, the Idaho State Police Reporter said.
The accident happened about 7:16 a.m., when the semi -
truck driven Ian Laboucane, 50, of Washington Terrace,
Utah, was traveling southbound with an empty trailer.