Remote cameras: Secretive wolverines give up furry clues in Glacier National Park
By TRISTAN SCOTT
As the fur-covered critter wrests the carrion from a steel bolt on a bait post, it leaves behind a token that will be treasured by researchers studying the animal - a lock of wolverine fur.
The remarkable scene was captured last month by remote camera at a backcountry site in Glacier National Park, where carnivore ecologist John Waller has been conducting an unprecedented study to determine the size of the park's wolverine population.
The creature's tenacity in removing the bait is testament to its Latin name, Gulo gulo, meaning "gluttonous glutton."
Still, wolverines remain one of the least studied, least understood denizens of the northern Rockies, and only in the last decade have researchers begun to understand critical information about the creature's denning habits, its reliance on late-spring snowpack and wildland connectivity, and the effects of climate change on its future productivity as a species.
Wolverines exploit an underground world that exists between the earth and the snowpack, and climate change could have damaging effects on that habitat.
The wolverine was recently listed as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, and Waller said assessing the animal's population density in Glacier Park is an important next step toward staying informed about its status.
"They are dependent on late-spring snowpack, and the worry is that as these snowbound conditions diminish they're not going to have the opportunities to breed and raise their kits," Waller said. "We need to start talking about population sizes if we hope to know whether there's enough of a population to sustain a future."
More than 50 volunteers have participated in Waller's unprecedented study, and began efforts to collect wolverine hair samples in early January. During the course of the study, Waller and his crews made repeat visits to 30 sites scattered throughout Glacier Park's remote backcountry.
The idea is simple: The wolverine runs up the tree or bait post to fetch a road-killed deer carcass, leaving behind its fur on gun-wire brushes affixed to the bait post. The hair is then collected and sent to a lab for DNA analysis that distinguishes the individual animals. The numbers will be tallied after the study is concluded at the end of the month, and a population size will be estimated using mark and recapture theory.
Accessing the sites to retrieve the samples is anything but easy, and volunteers are often required to make multi-day ski trips in order to retrieve hair samples.
"If you're a crazy Gulo groupie like I am, it's great," said Doug Chadwick, author of the book "The Wolverine Way" and a volunteer in Waller's study.
Between 2002 and 2008, Chadwick devoted untold hours as a volunteer for a pioneering wolverine study coordinated by researcher Jeff Copeland and driven by biologist Rick Yates out of the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula. Using log-cabin traps, radio collars and GPS implants, the ambitious study recorded more than 30,000 waypoints and revealed unimagined secrets about the wolverine's biology and habits.
"Today there are still only a couple dozen dens known about in the lower 48, and half of those were found in Glacier through the Copeland and Yates study," Chadwick said.
So when Waller announced the latest, less-invasive study, Chadwick immediately signed on and began recruiting other volunteers to lend a hand - and help break backcountry trail."You've either got to be strong enough to ski into some pretty harsh terrain, or wily enough like me to recruit some 20-somethings and then follow along in their trails," he said. "It's amazing people sign up for this stuff, it's so physically demanding."
Last week, Chadwick and his wife, Karen Reeves, emerged from a remote corner of the park with the Polebridge Mercantile's youthful owners, Stuart Reiswig and Flannery Coats. The going got tough at times, but after five days and 35 miles the group returned home bearing gifts - fur samples for Waller to add to his collection.
Waller said the dedication of his volunteers has been remarkable, and he marvels at their enthusiasm for the project.
"They love wolverines and they love the park," he said. "They're interested and engaged in the project. I can hardly hold them back."
"You get lured in by the animal and how it lives and what it does," Waller continued. "It's so fascinating to see where a wolverine can go and what it can climb."
Oft-repeated anecdotal evidence from the Yates/Copeland study shows a wolverine covering 5,000 vertical feet in 90 minutes to summit Mount Cleveland, the highest point in Glacier Park.
Yates said the new study is important for several reasons, including that it gives continuity to the wolverine conversations - funding for his and Copeland's research dried up several years ago.
"By continuing to collect DNA, John's helping to continue to illuminate the wolverine's genetic baseline for the park. And that is important. We should be doing that with all the animals," Yates said.
Based on the results of his study, Yates estimates there are about 40 wolverines living in Glacier Park.
"Glacier really is the premier place to carry out wolverine research because of the density of the population there," Yates said. "There's two to three times as many wolverines as there would be further north."
Yates said the prey base and habitat have been fairly consistent in the park because trapping and hunting are not allowed, and the biggest threat now is climate change and the loss of connectivity between island populations due to human development.
"The things we are able to do now with GPS and DNA technology, we never even dreamed of 20 years ago," Yates said. "It has really changed the wildlife research world. Let's hope it can help the wolverine."
The remarkable scene was captured last month by remote camera at a backcountry site in Glacier National Park, where carnivore ecologist John Waller has been conducting an unprecedented study to determine the size of the park's wolverine population.
The creature's tenacity in removing the bait is testament to its Latin name, Gulo gulo, meaning "gluttonous glutton."
Still, wolverines remain one of the least studied, least understood denizens of the northern Rockies, and only in the last decade have researchers begun to understand critical information about the creature's denning habits, its reliance on late-spring snowpack and wildland connectivity, and the effects of climate change on its future productivity as a species.
Wolverines exploit an underground world that exists between the earth and the snowpack, and climate change could have damaging effects on that habitat.
The wolverine was recently listed as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, and Waller said assessing the animal's population density in Glacier Park is an important next step toward staying informed about its status.
"They are dependent on late-spring snowpack, and the worry is that as these snowbound conditions diminish they're not going to have the opportunities to breed and raise their kits," Waller said. "We need to start talking about population sizes if we hope to know whether there's enough of a population to sustain a future."
More than 50 volunteers have participated in Waller's unprecedented study, and began efforts to collect wolverine hair samples in early January. During the course of the study, Waller and his crews made repeat visits to 30 sites scattered throughout Glacier Park's remote backcountry.
The idea is simple: The wolverine runs up the tree or bait post to fetch a road-killed deer carcass, leaving behind its fur on gun-wire brushes affixed to the bait post. The hair is then collected and sent to a lab for DNA analysis that distinguishes the individual animals. The numbers will be tallied after the study is concluded at the end of the month, and a population size will be estimated using mark and recapture theory.
Accessing the sites to retrieve the samples is anything but easy, and volunteers are often required to make multi-day ski trips in order to retrieve hair samples.
"If you're a crazy Gulo groupie like I am, it's great," said Doug Chadwick, author of the book "The Wolverine Way" and a volunteer in Waller's study.
Between 2002 and 2008, Chadwick devoted untold hours as a volunteer for a pioneering wolverine study coordinated by researcher Jeff Copeland and driven by biologist Rick Yates out of the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula. Using log-cabin traps, radio collars and GPS implants, the ambitious study recorded more than 30,000 waypoints and revealed unimagined secrets about the wolverine's biology and habits.
"Today there are still only a couple dozen dens known about in the lower 48, and half of those were found in Glacier through the Copeland and Yates study," Chadwick said.
So when Waller announced the latest, less-invasive study, Chadwick immediately signed on and began recruiting other volunteers to lend a hand - and help break backcountry trail."You've either got to be strong enough to ski into some pretty harsh terrain, or wily enough like me to recruit some 20-somethings and then follow along in their trails," he said. "It's amazing people sign up for this stuff, it's so physically demanding."
Last week, Chadwick and his wife, Karen Reeves, emerged from a remote corner of the park with the Polebridge Mercantile's youthful owners, Stuart Reiswig and Flannery Coats. The going got tough at times, but after five days and 35 miles the group returned home bearing gifts - fur samples for Waller to add to his collection.
Waller said the dedication of his volunteers has been remarkable, and he marvels at their enthusiasm for the project.
"They love wolverines and they love the park," he said. "They're interested and engaged in the project. I can hardly hold them back."
"You get lured in by the animal and how it lives and what it does," Waller continued. "It's so fascinating to see where a wolverine can go and what it can climb."
Oft-repeated anecdotal evidence from the Yates/Copeland study shows a wolverine covering 5,000 vertical feet in 90 minutes to summit Mount Cleveland, the highest point in Glacier Park.
Yates said the new study is important for several reasons, including that it gives continuity to the wolverine conversations - funding for his and Copeland's research dried up several years ago.
"By continuing to collect DNA, John's helping to continue to illuminate the wolverine's genetic baseline for the park. And that is important. We should be doing that with all the animals," Yates said.
Based on the results of his study, Yates estimates there are about 40 wolverines living in Glacier Park.
"Glacier really is the premier place to carry out wolverine research because of the density of the population there," Yates said. "There's two to three times as many wolverines as there would be further north."
Yates said the prey base and habitat have been fairly consistent in the park because trapping and hunting are not allowed, and the biggest threat now is climate change and the loss of connectivity between island populations due to human development.
"The things we are able to do now with GPS and DNA technology, we never even dreamed of 20 years ago," Yates said. "It has really changed the wildlife research world. Let's hope it can help the wolverine."
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