This week, a wolverine was seen walking through suburbs in Oregon. This is the first time in more than 30 years that the species has been seen outside the Wallowa Mountains.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said that a couple fishing on the Columbia River near Portland saw the quickhatch for the first time on Monday, 20 March 2023. This is more than 250 miles from where it is known to live.
The anglers took pictures of the giant weasel before it ran away, and wildlife biologists confirmed the sighting by finding a set of tracks along the river bank.
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Two days later, the wolverine’s black, fuzzy tail was seen again in Damascus through some bushes next to a road.
“Given the proximity to Portland, we were very surprised when this report came in and elated when we were able to verify the sighting,” ODFW District Wildlife Biologist Dave Keiter said in a statement.
State biologists think that the glutton, which can travel 30 miles daily, is probably going through Portland to find a good place to live.
ODFW says that wolverines haven’t been seen much in Oregon in the last 100 years and shared a tweet, which is given below-
The first post was for posterity. Now pardon us while we freak out a little. A WOLVERINE, a freaking WOLVERINE in Western Oregon 🤩 week, month, year made! https://t.co/C7LxojggGf
— Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (@MyODFW) March 23, 2023
At first, people thought that the animals, usually found at high elevations and near snowpack, had been driven out of Oregon by 1936.
During the next few decades, people said they occasionally saw wolverines, but it was hard to confirm these reports.
In 1990, a car hit a wolverine near the city of Cascade Locks, which is about 40 miles east of Portland. This proved that the species lived in the area without being seen.
Wolverines had only been seen in the state between then and Monday in the Wallowa Mountain area.
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