Colorado getting serious about Wolverine introductions?

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Description: Wolverines have a reputation larger than life, but they are impressive weasels by any standard. Wolverines are three feet long, with a rather short tail, just one-quarter the total length. Otters are longer, but wolverines are the heaviest of weasels, tipping the scale at 20 to 30 pounds or more. They are stocky mammals, built like a small bear. Their fur is dark brown to black, and the sides have a characteristic yellowish brown to whitish stripe. Like other weasels, wolverines have anal musk-producing glands. Range: Wolverines are mammals of the dense forest, in both North America and Eurasia. Habitat: In Colorado, historical and recent reports show nearly all wolverines are from higher elevations, in areas of heavy timber. However, wolverines may follow their considerable appetite into open country. Until recently, the last confirmed wolverine sighting in Colorado was in 1919. Occasional reports of wolverine sightings were investigated, but wolverines were never officially documented. In spring 2009, researchers with the Greater Yellowstone Wolverine Program tracked a wolverine from Grand Teton National Park south into north central Colorado utilizing satellite-collar technology. The wolverine was the first confirmed in the state in 90 years. Diet: By day, wolverines rest in an informal den beneath a boulder or windthrown tree. By night they wander to eat rodents and carrion. Occasionally they may eat weakened deer or other large prey, especially when bogged in deep snow. Wolverines are legendary marauders of the North, renowned for their strength, cunning and viciousness. Pound for pound, they are probably no stronger than the next weasel. "Cunning" and "vicious" are terms best reserved for people. People can be cunning and vicious. Wolverines probably are just hungry and quite capable of satisfying it. Reproduction: Wolverines breed during the warmer months. Embryos implant in January. Two to four young are born in late March or early April. Growth of the blind, toothless newborns is rapid, and they will be half-grown when they disperse in autumn. Have You Seen A Wolverine? Think you've seen a wolverine in Colorado? Help biologists by filling out the Wolverine Sighting Form (RTF file). Wolverine Confirmed in Colorado Researchers from the Greater Yellowstone Wolverine program say they have confirmed the first wolverine in Colorado in 90 years. A male wolverine, tracked via GPS-satellite collar, was confirmed in the north-central part of Colorado in early June. While many wolverine sightings have been investigated by wildlife officers in the past decade, the last confirmed wolverine in Colorado was in 1919. Biologists believe it is possible that other wolverines are in the state but they have been unable to find definitive proof of other wolverine in Colorado. The newcomer wolverine, labeled M56, was captured near Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming in April as part of a study to understand these wide-ranging little-known animals. The wolverine traveled approximately 500 miles to reach Colorado. The Colorado Division of Wildlife is working with recovery program researchers to track the wolverine in order to monitor its movements and activities. On July 8, at its meeting in Gunnison, the Wildlife Commission granted the Division's request to begin having conversations about reintroducing wolverines with the Division's partners and stakeholders. A final Wildlife Commission decision on whether or not to proceed is not expected prior to November 2010.