Lone wolverine continues to roam Sierra
By Tom Knudson, Sacramento Bee
“Picture a weasel – and most of us can do that, for we have met the little demon of destruction, that small atom of insensate courage. … Multiply that mite by some fifty times and you have the likeness of a wolverine.”
Ernest Thompson Seton — “Lives of Game Animals, Vol. II,” 1925 – 1927
He wanders long distances at night, alone.
He curls up under wind-stunted trees at the timberline.
And from a distance, he can hear the rumble of traffic along Interstate 80.
But almost no one has ever seen him.
“He’s gone before you even have a clue he’s there,” said Amanda Shufelberger, a wildlife biologist with Sierra Pacific Industries who has tracked the animal across the Sierra Nevada since 2008. “He does not want to see you.”
Three years after the discovery of a wolverine in the Tahoe National Forest north of Truckee, the elusive creature continues to roam the region, defying expectations, delighting many and stirring calls to find him a mate.