Wolverine near Bierstadt

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vonmackle
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by vonmackle »

moneymike wrote: Where's pic #3?
Did somebody just ask for the butt shot? You got it!
wolverine-1484-2.jpg
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"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." -Ludwig van Beethoven
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vonmackle
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by vonmackle »

mikemalick wrote:Did you snap that pic near the trees where folks normally leave the road at that major switchback? When the road is closed with snow, folks normally get their snowshoes on there and head straight over to the trail rather than continuing on the road to the Summer TH. I only ask cuz I will be doing Bierstadt Thursday after work and will be passing right by that spot. What time of day did you spot this guy?
I was up there around sunset on Sunday. It was in that general area, yes...just a little farther east as if you were heading up Gray Wolf from there. The DOW guy said the wolverine is probably 20 miles away already, but you never know. Keep your eyes peeled!
"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable." -Ludwig van Beethoven
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vonmackle
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by vonmackle »

Eric at the DOW asked me to send him some larger sized photos so they can try identifying it. They might be able to tell if it's the wolverine that was tracked via GPS collar from the Tetons n 2009. That's currently the only confirmed wolverine in Colorado. Eric said the wolverine has since shed the collar, but they could tell whether this is the same animal by the patterns on its fur. I can't wait to hear what they find out.
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by GreenHorn »

wolverine.jpg
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Awesome picture Vonmackle, but why no mention of the Sasquatch in the background? The DOW may be interested in that as well!
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by moneymike »

GreenHorn wrote:
wolverine.jpg
Awesome picture Vonmackle, but why no mention of the Sasquatch in the background? The DOW may be interested in that as well!
:lol:
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by vonmackle »

I just got an email from DOW, and they believe this is the wolverine that was tracked from Wyoming into Colorado in 2009. Apparently they have since located him "a long but reasonable distance" from where I saw him.

GreenHorn wrote:
Awesome picture Vonmackle, but why no mention of the Sasquatch in the background? The DOW may be interested in that as well!
:lol:

Have you ever tried getting Sasquatch to sign a model release form? And I thought el chupacabra was an a-hole!
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Rafiti5760
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by Rafiti5760 »

Congrats on capturing a photo of M56. This young, male wolverine was trapped and tagged in the Grand Tetons and began wandering toward Colorado in early June 2009. I was in Rocky Mtn National Park in June 2009 photographing elk just above timberline and he walked out of the tree line right into my lap. I managed to grab a few frames before he vanished as well. You have hit the wildlife photography lottery as there are now only two photographs of wolverines in Colorado in the past 100 years. I'm sure the DOW is very interested your images. There are estimated to be less than 300 wolverines in the lower 48. It's a thrill to see one of these little guys, let alone capture on on film.

The Wolverine Conservation Society in Montana (Bob and Kris Inman) are heading most of the research and tracking of wolverines outside of Alaska. I sent the link of your photos to them this morning. It's nice to see this guy is still hanging around our state. You might shoot them an email, I'm sure they'd be very interested in getting some additional information from you.

Here's their contact information:

Kris Inman
Wildlife Conservation Society
Yellowstone/Rockies Wolverine Program
222 E. Main Street, Lone Elk, Suite 3b
Ennis, MT 59729
406.682.3437
kinman@wcs.org

Again, congrats.

Ray Rafiti
Wild Faces Wild Places Photography
http://www.rayrafiti.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
rrafiti@yahoo.com
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by Rafiti5760 »

Here's a link coverage by Nat Geo and the New York Times in June 2009 when this little guy first wandering into Colorado.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com ... _colorado/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/scien ... erine.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by JA_son27 »

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by caveman_ug »

I actually saw a wolf in guanella pass a few years ago and at the time nobody believed me. Until a collared female wild from yellowstone got hit on i70 near idaho spring. Sad that it took that for proof but... Anyway I dont think we actually know half of what is out there in or wilderness sometimes. :)
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by vonmackle »

Ray, I just stumbled on your photos Friday night when reading about wolverine sightings in Rocky Mountain National Park. That's awesome! Great shots. M56 certainly has great taste in mountains. I wonder where we'll see him next. Thanks for the links, and I'll be sure to get in touch with the WCS when I get a chance.

For those of you who want to see Ray's photos, check out his website http://www.rayrafiti.com, go to 'print galleries', and click on 'small mammals'. He has some other great wildlife and landscape photos on there as well.
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Re: Wolverine near Bierstadt

Post by Rafiti5760 »

Cameron

I got a reply from Bob Inman with the Wolverine Conservation Society last night after sending him the link to you photos. M56 has an embedded tracking device and according to Bob it's still "beeping". They checked the location of his beacon and he's now more than 20 miles from where you took the shot. THey were also able to verify him through his chest markings. I've become such a huge fan of these guys since my brief encounter. There is a fantastic book called the Wolverine Way written by Doug Chadwick you might enjoy reading. They are truly remarkable creatures.
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