Two people who were fishing along the Columbia River spotted a wolverine on Monday, March 20th.
Wolverines are rare and listed as threatened in Oregon, they are the largest member of the weasel family and resemble a small bear.
This is the first confirmed sighting of a wolverine outside of the Wallowa Mountains in over 30 years.
Photos of the wolverine taken by the anglers were shared with staff from Cascadia Wild, a local non-profit organization conducting community science wildlife surveys for wolverine on Mt. Hood, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff.
ODFW wildlife biologists organized a visit to the site of the observation with Cascadia Wild staff on Tuesday, March 21. The location and date of the photos were verified, and a search of the area resulted in the discovery of a set of wolverine tracks. No other sign was found.
"Given the proximity to Portland, we were very surprised when this report came in and elated when we were able to verify the sighting,” said ODFW District Wildlife Biologist Dave Keiter. “We really appreciate the people who reported this rare occurrence and Cascadia Wild who helped us confirm the report and begin monitoring efforts.”
It is likely that this animal was dispersing as the habitat in the area doesn’t meet the life history requirements of wolverines. Wolverine can travel over 30 miles in a day, so it is likely the animal is already long gone from where it was sighted.
Wolverines are widely distributed in Canada and Alaska, with smaller populations occurring in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon, which is at the southern edge of the current wolverine range in North America.