Picture of a wolverine captured near Randolph on March 11, 2022. Photo courtesy of the Division of Wildlife Resources
RANDOLPH — The first known wolverine ever captured in Utah by biologists was taken on March 11 in Rich County, approximately six miles from Randolph. The day before, on March 10, the animal was seen by a sheepherder tending sheep in the area when he came across an animal that was in the process of killing and wounding 18 of his sheep. As he approached the animal it ran west.
USDA-Wildlife Services happened to be conducting a livestock protection survey in the area and they sent both a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft to investigate.
As Wildlife Services personnel flew over the area, they spotted the wolverine running through the snow. They immediately contacted their supervisor who in turn contacted the DWR.
“It’s amazing to get a chance to see a wolverine in the wild, let alone catch one,” DWR Northern Region Wildlife Manager Jim Christensen said. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologists are excited to learn more about an elusive animal with only eight confirmed sightings in Utah since 1979.
One of the fiercest animals on the planet, wolverines are known for their strength, fearlessness, and voracity. They like to live alone and hunt at night preying on all kinds of game and livestock. They don’t hesitate to attack any animal, even small bears.
To increase the chances of capturing the wolverine DWR biologist set two traps then placed the dead sheep into them to attract an animal adept at feeding on dead animals.
A large portion of a wolverine’s diet comes from eating the carcasses of elk, caribou, livestock and other animals.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food removed all the remaining 18 sheep from the area.
About mid-morning, the sheepherder visited the area and noticed a door on one of the traps was down. Inside the trap was the wolverine, captured by biologists in Utah.
DWR biologists and a DWR conservation officer brought the wolverine back to the Ogden office where they drew blood, collected hair samples and took a series of measurements.
Throughout the examination, they monitored the sedated animal’s heart rate, breathing and temperature, applying alcohol and ice to its armpits and stomach to keep it cool. Before reversing the effects of the drug they also attached a GPS collar to its neck.
Biologists determined the wolverine was a male between 3-4 years old. It weighed 28 pounds and was 41 inches long from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail.
“The animal had good, sharp teeth,” Christensen said. “It was in really good condition.”
After checking the animal over completely, the animal was placed back in the trap and taken back into the wild and released.
“It took only a couple of minutes for it to start waking up,” Christensen said. “Pretty soon, it was wide awake and as lively as ever.”
The chance to track this wolverine is priceless, and the GPS data will provide invaluable information to biologists. That tracking information will include when and where the animal travels, the size of its home range and the type of habitats it uses at different times of the year.
“Having a collar on this wolverine will teach us things about wolverines in Utah that would be impossible to learn any other way,” Christensen said. “Four different wolverine sightings were confirmed in Utah in 2021. Were we seeing the same animal or different animals? Having a collar on this animal will help us solve that riddle.”
Conservation groups claim there are only about 300 of the animals in the lower 48 states.