When a wolverine appeared for the first time for the last 150 years in North Dakota, a rancher shot it. Wolverines were eradicated in this part of the USA for the safety of the livestock.
Since 2008, scientists have been tracking this omnivorous animal, known by them as M56. They put a transmitter under the wolverine’s skin after they caught it south of Yellowstone National Park.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department stated that this wolverine wandered into Colorado in 2009. It stayed there for at least three years, but then the researchers lost its tracks. Obviously, the battery of M56’ transmitter has ran out of power at some moment.
After losing the track, the researchers did not know what had happened to the wolverine until last month. Then, the animal was killed by a rancher in McKenzie County, North Dakota. This place is located about 700 miles from where M56 was last spotted.
The wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family. This animal was last seen in North Dakota 1.5 century ago. In those years, ranchers, farmers, and trappers killed it massively. This lead to the extinction of the species in this area. Obviously, this animal is still not welcome here since M56 was shot for the same reasons as most of its ancestors.
The rancher explained that this animal was harassing the livestock and that is the reason he shot it.
This is actually not against law. The landowners and their tenants and staff are allowed to kill any wild fur-bearing animals to protect the crops, poultry, and domestic animals. Bears are the only exception and they cannot be killed.
Since this is the local law, authorities stated that the shooting was justified and it will not be sanctioned in any way.
After the animal was killed, a biologist conducted a necropsy. During it, the tracking device was found. This allowed the researchers to identify that this was M56. The animal was at the age of 8-9 years old and in a good health condition when it got killed.
The appearance of such an animal here is a real event for the scientists. The last time a wolverine was seen in North Dakota was about 150 years ago. The closest population of these animals is known to be in the mountains of Montana and also in the forests of Northern Canada. Recently, some unconfirmed sightings of the species were made in northwest Minnesota.
Unfortunately for both the animal and the scientists, the appearance of a wolverine now had a tragic end.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is involved in a debate whether the wolverine should be listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The killing of the wolverine now makes this debate even more important. Nobody knows when such an animals will appear again in this area and measures should be taken that this time it will not be killed.