Nature lovers and animal conservationists are very excited. A few weeks ago, Ryan Campbell was enjoying some skiing on Mammoth Mountain, CA. While riding the gondola, someone spotted a wolverine wandering along the ski slopes. Campbell quickly snapped a photo before the creature was startled off by a skier coming down the hill. But this is amazing news. This is the second sighting of a wolverine in the Golden State in 101 years!
Like many animal populations, the wolverine’s population used to be bountiful before human encroachment caused mass extinction in the California mountains. It took only a century for the California species to be wiped out and the last known wolverine died in 1922. In 2008, a single wolverine was spotted in the Tahoe National Forest. Named Buddy, he led a lonely existence.
“He’s kind of a transient,” Chris Stermer, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife senior environmental scientist, said. “He’s a lone wolverine looking for a female he’s likely never to find.” Which is quite sad when you think about it. But this sighting of another wolverine might mean that small populations may be making their way back to California mountains. Let us reiterate that the California population was wiped out. Wolverine’s still exist in several parts of the country. And given the lifespan of wolverine’s, there’s a good chance the one spotted isn’t Buddy.
If a wolverine has been spotted as far as Mammoth Mountain, it could mean that this scavenger could be followed by others. Perhaps maybe even a lonely female looking to have a family. Seeing a return of an obliterated population makes many of us hopeful for the recovery of the natural world. Especially in the current climate.
