Wolverines spotted at Mount Rainier National Park in US after over 100 years

The famous Mount Rainier National Park had some rare new visitors recently. The park is now home to wolverines again, who returned after more than 100 years. Reportedly, in a rare sighting, the first reproductive female wolverine and her two offspring called kits have been discovered by scientists of the Cascades Carnivore Project in collaboration with the National Park Service.

Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, United States shared the news recently. On August 20, Mount Rainier National Park took to Twitter to share news that wolverines had returned to the reserve after a hiatus of more than 100 years. They posted a video, recorded by Travis Harris, showing the animals playing in the greenery. Check out the 33-second-long video here:

Netizens react to extremely rare wolverine sighting 

According to the National Park Service’s website, wolverine is an extremely rare animal in North America. Since being shared on the micro-blogging site, the video has received more than 6,500 likes and over 2,200 retweets. The video, which has garnered over 1.6 lakh views, has caught everyone’s attention. Check out some of the reactions here:

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As per several reports, the reproductive female wolverine named Joni and her two offspring called kits were discovered by the scientists of the Cascades Carnivore Project, who used camera stations designed to capture the animals and recognize them using their uniquely patterned chest markings.

Wolverines, who look like small bears, are actually the largest member of the weasel family. Reportedly, it is estimated that only 300-1000 wolverines live in the lower 48 US states, making the animal an exceptionally rare sight. The wolverines used to live as far south as California, Utah and Colorado. However, the carnivore’s population has receded north over the last 100 years. 

According to reports, wolverines need snowpack to den their young, but due to climate change, wolverines are finding themselves living in more hostile conditions.  Since 2008, the Cascades Carnivore Project has conducted several researches and conservation efforts on rare and at high risk carnivore species, including the wolverine.

(Image credit: Pixabay/Representative Image)

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