Caught on Trail Cam: Rare Wolverines in Idaho National Forest

Trail cameras in Idaho’s Payette National Forest captured photos of an elusive species of mustelid—the wolverine. The U.S. Forest Service recently shared the trail-cam photos of one or more wolverines from February and March. This is exactly what biologists had hoped to see when they placed the cameras.

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“Last winter, Payette National Forest wildlife biologists set up seven game cameras in hopes of capturing snapshots of wolverines,” wrote the U.S. Forest Service – Payette National Forest in an Instagram post. “The goal of using the cameras is to determine presence of these curious creatures in the snowy months and to estimate the total population size on the Forest using DNA.”

Wolverines are the largest terrestrial members of the mustelid family, which also includes animals like badgers, weasels, and otters. “Wolverines are secretive, elusive animals that most people have never seen in the wild,” adds the U.S. Forest Service. “In 2024, the wolverine was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.”

See trail-cam photos of wolverines in Idaho below.

Header stock image by Gerald Corsi/Getty Images

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