For years, CSERC biologists have maintained camera detection wildlife stations in the Stanislaus National Forest in search of elusive forest furbearers including martens, fishers and wolverines. While we have detected the adorable pine marten throughout the forest (see picture below), we have yet to get photographic evidence of fisher or wolverine. Wolverine, as many of you may have heard, has been spotlighted in the media recently. This elusive carnivore, thought to be extinct in the Sierra Nevada, was recently photographed on the Tahoe National Forest. Oregon State University graduate student, Katie Moriarty, first photographed this furry blur (see picture below) on February 28, and Forest Service researchers later photographed wolverine and collected hair and scat samples on March 13. These researchers analyzed DNA collected from the scat samples and compared this DNA with samples from museum specimens of the historical California population as well as with animals from Washington and the Rocky Mountain Range. Unfortunately, this DNA evidence indicates this wolverine did not descend from the California or Washington populations but is related to the Rocky Mountain population. The nearest wolverines in the Rockies exist 600 miles away northeast in the Idaho Sawtooth Range. So either this animal has broken records in the greatest distance traveled by a wolverine or it is a released or escaped pet or captive. Either way, we continue our search for fisher and wolverine in the Stanislaus in hopes of capturing the image of one of these creatures. Share with us any interesting wildlife sightings that you’ve had in the forest!
Brenda Whited, CSERC Staff Biologist
The Pine Marten is one rare mammal that our camera stations have been successful in capturing.
Here is the now famous photo that first caught the Tahoe wolverine on camera.