Wildlife study: Wolverines without borders
Researchers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and US Forest Service are working with Canadian biologists to track wolverines in the North Cascades.
A wolverine is held by Scott Fitkin, wildlife biologist with the Wash-ington Depart-ment of Fish & Wildlife, in January 2007, after being trapped and tagged in the Twisp River area.
MAZAMA — The first study of wolverines in the North Cascades is now an international effort.
Researchers here have begun collaborating with wildlife biologists from the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment.
The change means a larger geographic area in which to study the elusive high-elevation scavengers, and more knowledge to tap for the five-year study, said wildlife biologist Keith Aubry, who’s heading the study for the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station.
Biologists will also double the number of traps around the Methow Valley, and use bait only inside the traps in an effort to catch more animals. Bait had also been used near remote camera sites to photograph the animals.
“One of the questions we’re interested in is: Are we studying an isolated or semi-isolated population that maybe gets colonized periodically, or is it just the southern extent of the range of a population that goes into British Columbia?” Aubry asked.
So far, Washington state and U.S. Forest Service researchers have trapped five wolverines, fitting them with radio-collars before releasing them.
If the same animals are repeatedly caught both north and south of the border, they may all be part of a larger population that considers both North Central Washington and lower British Columbia its home.
On a practical level, Aubry said, it’s difficult for biologists to track the wolverines with radio collars once they cross into Canada, so having a biologist in Canada tracking the same animals will be very useful. And if wolverines trapped in Canada travel south, biologists here can pick up their movements. Canadian researchers will also set up traps and radio-collar wolverines they catch.
Eric Lofroth, wildlife biologist for British Columbia’s Ministry of the Environment, said it’s unusual to have international collaboration, even though the animals obviously don’t recognize the border. “For the most part, this hasn’t been done, at least in this manner. We’re effectively working on one project, just trying to learn about the animals and trying to pretend that the border’s not there,” he said.
