Additionally, she found in her analysis that these individuals were new to researchers. Hair samples that
allowed genetic testing for identification were only collected for one individual. According to Cathy,
"We believe the genetic sample goes with the wolverine identified as CHWK-01 in the attached file. This
is the individual that was detected most frequently in April and May. Regardless of the genetic results,
the photos alone were enough for us to conclude that this was a new wolverine….Comparing the
markings we could see to those of our known study animals, and the fact that this animal did not have a
collar, we were able to positively determine that this wolverine was not one that we have previously
captured or detected at a run-pole camera station. So all 3 wolverines detected at Chiwaukum are in
addition to individuals we have positively identified thus far."
Figure 7: Comparison of markings for identification of three
individual wolverines documented during 2012 in our project.
Credit: Cathy Raley, PNW Research Station
The confirmation in December 2012 that our camera sites documented three previously unknown
individual wolverines is yet another example of the efficacy of citizen monitoring efforts that
supplement professional wildlife research. Installation of hair snares into our protocol for all wolverine
stations will allow for the collection of hair samples which can provide a host of genetic information
about individual wolverines lineage, source population, and shared genetics with other wolverine
17
