Wolverine in rare sighting amid California’s Sierra Nevada Range

A wolverine was spotted three times recently in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, the second mustelid mammal specimen spotted in the state in the past century.

The wolverine was seen two times in Inyo National Forest and one time in Yosemite National Park in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains in May, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed Thursday.

The average lifespan of a wolverine, an aggressive scavenging animal most closely related to weasels, is 12 to 13 years. The previous specimen was observed from 2008 to 2018, and California wildlife experts believe the recent sightings are of a different wolverine.

Before the 2008 wolverine was spotted in Tahoe National Forest, there had been no confirmed California sightings of the animal since the 1920s.

“Wolverines can travel great distances, making it likely that the recent sightings are all of the same animal. Because only two wolverines have been confirmed in California during the last 100 years, these latest detections are exciting,” CDFW Senior Environmental Scientist Daniel Gammons said.

This most recent specimen appears to be a young male wolverine looking to mate. Snowfall this past winter could have created bridges letting the wolverine cross over the Rockies or the Cascades, coming from as far afield as Canada and Alaska.

Snowy slopes provided the backdrop for one of the three sightings. On May 20, skier Ryan Campbell was with a friend and two strangers in a gondola at the Mammoth Mountain resort in Inyo National Forest when they spotted the wolverine.

One of the two strangers pointed out an animal ambling up a skip ramp and asked if it was a wolverine.

Mr. Campbell told SFGATE.com he saw what looked like “a small bear, except for the white marking, long tail and the head,” and snapped a photo. Then, startled by an oncoming skier, the wolverine scampered off.

“We saw it running toward a nearby clump of trees. Then we noticed why it started running. A skier was coming down the slope and took the jump, likely never having seen how close they were,” Mr. Campbell elaborated.