Unexpectedly High Detections of Wolverine (Gulo gulo) in Southwestern British Columbia

Abstract

We conducted an inventory of Wolverines (Gulo gulo) in southwestern British Columbia in winter 2012, using a multi-method approach of non-invasive genetic tagging and camera trapping. We detected a minimum of 4 females and 2 males at 5 hair-snag stations within an area of approximately 225 km2, which exceeded expectations based on predictions of low habitat quality and density from a broad-scale provincial model. Results were consistent with known adult intrasexual spacing patterns, suggesting that individuals were unlikely to represent members of a family group; however, overlap of territories could be a possible explanation of our results given the presence of potentially high-quality habitat features in our study area. Another possibility is that Wolverine density is higher in this part of the province than predicted by the model, potentially due to differences in food supply and key landscape features between this area and the areas where the model was developed. Further research is recommended to allow us to distinguish among competing hypotheses and fill data gaps on Wolverine ecology in this poorly studied coastal-transitional mountainous ecosystem.