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Attractants
Attractant Type Producer Use Notes
Caven's
Gusto
Scent
lure
Minnesota
Trapline
Products
Long range attractant, primarily designed for mustelids.
Imported
bait
Bait NA
Typical bait items include: deer quarter, marrow bone
procured from a butcher, rack of ribs, half of a beaver
carcass.
Found
carcass
Bait NA
Ideal if one is located in the field. If location is not ideal, can
be dragged to a location that works better for a camera
trap. Drag route may act as a scent trail the target species
might detect and follow into camera trap. Use caution in
handling and working around carcasses in regards to
disease transmission and bears.
Table 1 Attractants available for use by CWMP Camera Trap teams for wolverine sets.
Natural Bait: Found Carcass or Other Food Source
Wolverines are exceptionally efficient scavengers. Because of this, found carcasses on the
landscape, no matter what their origin, make an excellent attractant for a remote camera trap.
Carcasses may be the result of predation by wolves or mountain lions, animals wounded but not
retrieved by human hunters, malnourishment, road kill, or other causes. While a carcass will be the
strongest attractant when they are fresh, wolverines will at times inspect or return to remains a
month or more after they have been on the ground and been reduced to little more than bones and
scraps of hide.
While scouting an area look for carcasses on the landscape. Fresh carcasses often have a strong
scent. Follow up on these potential smells to see if you can detect a carcass. Similarly, fresh
carcasses often attract a lot of attention from birds such as ravens, crows, jays, and magpies. Attend
to and follow up on concentrations of these birds or their calls as they may lead you to a carcass. On
travel routes in the vicinity of a carcass you may find an increase in the density of carnivore scats. If
you find multiple scats along a travel route in a short distance, consider spending a little extra time
exploring the vicinity to see if there may be a carcass in the vicinity.
If a carcass is detected, observe the vicinity carefully and approach the location slowly. When
inspecting a carcass or setting up a camera trap around a carcass be efficient and spend as little
time in the vicinity as possible. There are several safety considerations that are important in
conjunction with fresh carcasses on the landscape. While mountain lions and wolves are typically
retreating in the presence of humans around carcasses, black bears and grizzly bears are both
