I am the Wolverine
Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of being a wolverine. Not wolverine, the character embodied by Hugh Jackman in the X-Men series but the original wolverine, the amazingly well-adapted, high mountain member of the weasel family. And, even better, my time as a wolverine was part of a long-term study of the species, as well as several other carnivores that inhabit the Cascades.
The director for my role was Aja Woodrow, a wildlife biologist, who works for the US Forest Service out of Cle Elum. To reach the location where I would embody a wolverine, we had hiked up toward Jolly Mountain (described by WTA as having a “rambunctious ridgeline and perky panoramic summit!?”) on a trail well-used by motorcycles and through the standing dead trees of the 2017 Jolly Mountain fire. We had then turned off the main trail and headed across an accordion terrain of drainages to a small copse of subalpine fir (at about 5,000 feet) to look for a suitable spot for me to leap into action.
The study location required two trees about 20 feet apart and big and tall enough that Aja could mount equipment above the winter accumulation of snow. To reach the desired height, he climbed one of the trees, using black-metal tree steps (a Z-shape with 90 degree bends) screwed into the trunk. About 15 feet up, Aja mounted a black plastic box equipped with a motion detector and camera, which took color photos in daylight and infrared at night, and a black, corrugated plastic shield, to protect the camera from snow. Here’s where my unexpected time to star occurred, when Aja said something that I suspect would titillate the hearts of many: “I need you to be a wolverine.”
To do so, I walked over to the second tree, calmed my excited nerves, thought to myself “I am the wolverine. I am the wolverine,” and paced in front of the tree, waving my arms to trigger the camera’s motion detector. Aja needed it aimed to ensure that it would detect any wolverine attracted to the location. As this was my first time playing the part of a wolverine, I was a bit nervous, but still pulled it off successfully, and I think, with a decent amount of flair, elegance, and elan. And, my career as a wolverine was over. (Sadly, no photos exist of me in action, except for the ones in the camera, still in the trees.)
With the camera in place, Aja came to the scene of my stardom, climbed the tree, and mounted a scent dispenser. It had been designed by Robert Long and Paula Mackay (who work for Woodland Park Zoo), a Microsoft researcher, and a wildlife biologist from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Housed in a hard plastic, bear-proof tube, the dispenser consisted of a miniature pump, which releases a small amount of the scent every other day, and a circuit board, designed by Microsoft and built to use minimal power and withstand freezing temperatures. The scent is a mix of beaver castoreum oil, anise oil, pure skunk extract, commercially available marten lure, (who knew something like this existed?) and propylene glycol, which prevents the mixture from freezing.
The goal of the motion detector stations, which are coordinated through the Cascades Carnivore Monitoring Program (CCMP), is to provide scientific data that can be used to support conservation planning on behalf of wolverines, lynx, Pacific martens, fishers, and Cascade red foxes in the Cascades. The plan is to set up stations in habitat used by these carnivores, to see who frequents the sites and how often they visit. One of the exciting wildlife stories of the past few years is that wolverines have returned to Washington state on their accord. This study, says Aja, “will allow researchers to detect trends in wolverine population over time,” an essential process in conserving and protecting the species.
Two summers ago, I was fortunate to tag along with Robert and Paula when they were taking down a previous generation, motion detector station set up near Mt. Shuksan. Between October 2021 and August 2022, the camera had taken 561 images, one a day at 11am and the rest when an animal tripped the detector. The first animal recorded was a coyote, who walked by the tree, followed by a mouse, then by a marten. The camera also recorded deer, bobcats, squirrels, black bear, a mountain lion, grouse, and one hiker, who walked through not knowing they had even been on camera.
Although our station did not record a wolverine, one about ten miles north did, as well as the regular appearance of a black bear, who climbed up to the scent trap and used the tree as a scratching post. That same bear or another also brought her two cubs, who explored and climbed the tree.
Clearly, a great deal more occurs in the Cascades than one typically sees, just as so much more happens in a city than we perceive. In my many decades of hiking and backpacking, I have seen dozens of deer and a few coyote and black bears (and more bear scat) but neither of the two cats nor a marten. To know that all of the species, and many more, live up here, even if they were lured to this spot artificially, is astounding. As someone who regularly thumbs through field guides to the Cascades, I always hope to see some other mammals beyond the relatively common ones, such as chipmunks, marmots, or ground squirrels but, like most hikers, I stroll a pretty human centric trail, and typically do not consider, and especially do not fully realize, that a complex community of animals, predator and prey, small and large, winged and furred, fossorial and climbing, might pass by one rather ordinary location. As Paula said to me in the field, I feel hopeful knowing that all of these animals are doing their thing in the Cascades.
Articles of interest
I have long been interested in building stone, as well as cement. Here’s an interesting story about the Romans and their concrete/cement, still considered some of the best ever made.
A follow up to the World Conker Championship story from last week. He’s not guilty.
Finally, I am honored to be included in this list of five books about Seattle.
Lovely! Thanks for the word picture taking us high into the mountains where the wild things are!
Great story. I would like to get a list of the five books on Seattle including yours but I sure as hell don't want to subscribe to the Seattle Times to do so. Any way I can get the list?