MAZAMA – The U.S. Forest Service has trapped the first wolverine ever captured and fitted with a radio collar in the Pacific Northwest.
Biologists are hoping to learn more about the habits and range of the elusive creatures known for their ferocious nature.
“No one’s ever studied them in the Pacific states before,” said Keith Aubry, who is heading the pilot study through the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station.
Biologists caught their first one just over a week ago in a subalpine forest northwest of Mazama in north-central Washington. It was a 19-pound female that measured nearly 3 feet from her nose to the tip of her 7-inch tail. She looked much like a small bear cub, only with long, ivory-colored claws.
They named her Melanie, after wolverine expert Jeff Copeland’s granddaughter, because he missed the child’s birthday party to lend his expertise to the wolverine expedition.
While she was tranquilized, biologists weighed Melanie and punched in an ear-tag, keeping part of the skin for a DNA sample. They fitted her with a radio collar so she can be tracked through July 2007. They’ll find out how far she travels and what elevation she covers.
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