It has been over 100 years since wolverines wandered the forests of Mount Rainier National Park, but a nursing mother and two kits just moved in and brought the species back to the conversation. This revelation was caught on park cameras and had brought quite a buzz to the park grounds. Right now, rangers are reporting this as positive news for the local ecosystem and the management of the park's wildlife. It'll only get better from here!
Chip Jenkins, the Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent, was ecstatic to see the change in the forest life.“It’s really, really exciting. 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." This reflects very well on the park for taking their animal's lives seriously.
The Cascades Carnivore Project (CCP) set up the cameras back in 2018 and found out about the new residents in 2020. Joni, the nursing mother, came with her kits and was publicized on the CCP Twitter account. They are hopefully the first of the creatures to return to the Washington area. The animals are in short supply, estimated to only have 300-1000 left int he USA. Maybe these new inhabitants will be the first of many!