courtesy of The Missoulian
by Tristan Scott
The carnivore’s eyes glow like orbs in the winter darkness, the front quarter of a deer clenched in its vice-like jaws.
As the fur-covered critter wrests the carrion from a steel bolt on a bait post, it leaves behind a token that will be treasured by researchers studying the animal – a lock of wolverine fur.
The remarkable scene was captured last month by remote camera at a backcountry site in Glacier National Park, where carnivore ecologist John Waller has been conducting an unprecedented study to determine the size of the park’s wolverine population.
The creature’s tenacity in removing the bait is testament to its Latin name, Gulo gulo, meaning “gluttonous glutton.”
Teklanika Nature Photography 