Mount Rainier’s first wolverine mama in a century is a sign of the species’ comeback
A mother wolverine and her kits ascend a tree. (NPS/Cascades Carnivore Project/)Wolverines hadn’t been spotted in the forests of Mount Rainier National Park in over 100 years. These animals are so rare, wildlife ecologists struggle even now to determine how vulnerable or endangered they are. So when park wildlife ecologist Tara Chestnut and her colleagues received numerous credible reports of wolverine sightings from hikers, they set out to install a camera in hopes of catching video proof.The first camera went up in the fall of 2018. It took a year and a half and five additional camera installations, but the payoff was worth it. When they checked their footage this past spring, the park staff found not only video of a wolverine, but a lactating wolverine (who they have named Joni) with two baby kits. “This is the first reproductive female that we’ve ever documented in the park, and the...