America's national parks welcome millions of guests every year, but Mt. Rainier National Park appears to have a few very special guests that park officials hope will stick around more permanently.
That's because a family of wolverines has been spotted in the park for the first time in more than a century, according to a press release.
Wolverines — which look like small bears but are actually the largest member of the weasel family — require snow pack to build their dens, making high-quality habitats for them tricky and especially vulnerable to climate change.
What's more, wolverines roam over wide areas. Officials estimate that even where high-quality habitats are available, you'll only find about 6.2 wolverines over 600 square miles. So, the lower 48 states are home to between 300 and 1,000 individual wolverines.
Up until about a century ago, wolverines were known to roam as far south as California and Utah. However, over the past 100 years, their populations have receded further and further north, according to The Wolverine Foundation.
There are fewer than 20 individual wolverines in all of Washington, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"It's really, really exciting," said Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. "It tells us something about the condition of the park— that when we have such large-ranging carnivores present on the landscape that we’re doing a good job of managing our wilderness."
So they set up a series of trail cams in hopes of capturing images of wolverines on the prowl. The cameras worked, and they've gotten some good images of their chest fur patterns, which are unique enough on wolverines that they can be identified individually.
It's just a precaution to keep the rare animals safe from any encounters with humans, not that such encounters are likely.
"Wolverines are solitary animals and despite their reputation for aggressiveness in popular media, they pose no risk to park visitors. If you are lucky enough to see one in the wild, it will likely flee as soon as it notices you," said Dr. Tara Chestnut.
