Distribution and Status of the Wolverine in Montana

Wolverines ( Gulo gulo ) were probably distributed throughout the mountainous areas of Montana until the western fur trade became active. If Coues (1893) was correct in his interpretation of remarks in the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, possibly the earliest recorded observations of the wolverine in Montana were made in 1805 near the present city of Great Falls and in the Big Hole Valley near the Idaho-Montana border. Even as late as 1927 the wolverine population of Yellowstone Park was estimated at six or eight by Skinner (1927), but from information available from trappers and fur buyers it seems likely that in most areas of Montana the wolverine was near extinction before that time. In recent years, however, wolverines have been seen and shot or trapped with increasing frequency in the northwestern portion of the state. In an effort to evaluate this apparent regrowth of population the authors investigated many reports provided by trappers, hunters and other woodsmen. All reports which were not supported by specimens were carefully evaluated and it is believed that all presented here are completely authentic. Although the 21 capture records date back to 1932, 18 were taken since 1939. Eleven have been shot or trapped since 1950. To our knowledge, recent sight records of wolverines began only in 1944 and since then at least twenty observations have been made. The records obtained can be seen in Figure 1 and Tables 1 and 2. Fig. 1 Recent records of wolverine in Montana. View this table: Table 1 Sight records of wolverine in Montana View this table: Table 2 Capture records of wolverine in Montana Material from eight of the wolverines taken is in the Montana State …