Remote cameras, like the one that took this photo, were used to record wolverine activity at live traps during a collaborative study in the greater Yellowstone area from 2006 to 2009. Here, wolverine F3 revisits a live trap, which did not capture her, in 2008. Each trap was baited with a skinned beaver carcass obtained from Montana fur trappers and had a transmitter that signaled up to 18 miles when the trap was triggered. (Image via US Forest Service, Gardiner Ranger District)
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said Thursday they want information on who illegally shot and skinned a wolverine this month northwest of Wisdom.
There is no current hunting or trapping season for wolverines in Montana, though Montana holds the largest wolverine population in the Lower 48, according to the National Park Service, and the state previously allowed for a small number to be trapped.
FWP Region 3 spokesperson Morgan Jacobsen said someone reported a wolverine carcass on Nov. 10 seen along the roadway on Forest Service Road 7377, near Schultz Saddle and the Continental Divide, northwest of Wisdom.
He said a warden responded to the report and confirmed the wolverine had been shot, skinned, then abandoned.
FWP asks anyone with information to call the violation hotline at 1-800-TIP-MONT or report the violation online. Informants are eligible for cash rewards. Trap Free Montana says it is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible and would report any tips to the state.
In late October, WyoFile reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s assessment of wolverines published in late September found the U.S. wolverine population could be “less secure” than the agency previously thought due to climate change and other factors.
The news outlet reported the USFWS was likely to put wolverines back in the hands of federal management under the Endangered Species Act and that the final determination to list wolverines as threatened would be submitted by Nov. 27.
Editor’s note:This story has been updated to include information about the reward Trap Free Montana is offering in this case.
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