SEATTLE (AP) - The first breeding female wolverine has been documented south of Interstate 90 in modern times, confirming a comeback in the Cascades.
The Seattle Times reported Wednesday that using remote, motion-triggered cameras, the Cascades Carnivore Project has snagged hair for DNA analysis and photographically documented the presence of the same female south of the Cascades beginning in 2016.
The discovery this spring that she is lactating demonstrates she is reproducing.
Photos were taken of her east of Mount Rainier on the Naches Ranger District, in the William O. Douglas Wilderness.
The female is known to be the same one seen earlier, because each wolverine has a unique blaze of fur on its chest.
A male was documented in the same area.
Renowned for agility, power and all-terrain finesse, wolverines are among the most rare mammals in North America.
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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
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