Are Wolverines Extinct in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks?

Another older article with an update. These wolverine articles are so cool that I’m going to rerun them.

Wolverines Extinct in Sequoia – Kings Canyon?

A study using baited trap stations, done during winter, failed to find any wolverines in either Sequoia or Kings Canyon National Parks in the Southern Sierra Nevada. The survey utilized many trap stations for a couple of months. It was designed to test for wolverines persisting at very low densities. The researchers concluded that the wolverine is likely extirpated from the Southern Sierra Nevada. Many other recent studies have also failed to find any wolverines. The researchers advocate that wolverines be reintroduced to the Sierras, since they seem to be absent from the range.

However, in 2008, a male wolverine was photographed north of Lake Tahoe by researchers studying pine martens. DNA analysis subsequently showed that this animal is from the Rocky Mountains and is not a California wolverine. It is not known how this wolverine got to…