YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A rare sighting of a wolverine has been reported at Yellowstone National Park.
Park officials posted the finding on their Facebook page earlier this week.
Biologists were excited to find the rare mammal when it triggered a remote trail camera on Dec. 4 in a snow-covered forest outside the Mammoth Hot Springs area.
According to the post, wolverines are mid-sized carnivores in the weasel family that typically occupy high-elevation alpine and forest habitats, exist in low densities in the park and are rarely detected.
Park biologists been using remote cameras to monitor cougars since 2014, but say this technology has since become increasingly valuable for detecting and monitoring a variety of species and aspects of Yellowstone's ecology.
This marks the first time that a wolverine has been spotted on video footage since the cameras were deployed in the park.
Researchers studying wolverines documented just seven of the mammals in eastern Yellowstone and adjoining national forests from 2006-2009.
