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  • Wolverine

    95 percent sure i saw a wolverine along a hiking trail south of tupper lake today. Definetely not a bear. Too big to be a fisher. My dog is 30 pounds, this was about the same size, maybe a little bigger. What i saw was all black, thick bushy fur, broad shoulders, large tail. Im 100 percent sure it wasnt bigfoot or a mountain lion. Thoughts?

  • #2
    Ive heard others say they have seen them here so it could have been

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    • #3
      It's quite possible that Wolverines are able to reproduce in the Tug Hill region, but it's never been confirmed. It's probably the only area of NY other than above 4k feet on mountains that has enough snow pack for them to rear kits.

      It's also speculated that some wander into the upper reaches of NY from Canada, but that they are just lone soles.

      The third possibility is it is a wolverine that was captive and escaped or that it wasn't a wolverine at all.

      Have you seen Fisher in the wild before? They look bigger than they probably weigh - quite fluffy with big tails, usually black. 30lbs isn't all that big for a dog, but it's big for a Fisher. For reference a 10lb Fisher looks a lot bigger than a 10lb dog. I wouldn't describe a Fisher as being broad though, although compared to a bear, they definitely look wider and lower to the ground.

      How did it move? Was it bounding? Waddling? Scurrying? Walking slow?

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      • #4
        Walking slow, even when it spotted me, didnt take off fast like bears usually do. At its fastest i would describe it as a fast trot. Not the speed of a deer or bear.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Pikeman View Post
          95 percent sure i saw a wolverine along a hiking trail south of tupper lake today. Definetely not a bear. Too big to be a fisher. My dog is 30 pounds, this was about the same size, maybe a little bigger. What i saw was all black, thick bushy fur, broad shoulders, large tail. Im 100 percent sure it wasnt bigfoot or a mountain lion. Thoughts?

          Some years back I had the opportunity to attend a wildlife film festival in Montana and a biologiist and naturalist had just finished a film about a multi-year field study of Wolverines, their habits and habitats. I directly asked if they felt that the Adirondacks would be good habitat for Wolverine. To my surprise they both said no. This was because according to them Wolverine target avalanche kills in winter literally working the most extreme ranges and sniffing out unlucky Elk who fall prey to the fairly frequent avalanches. Though we do have avalanches in the Adirondacks, we dont have the Elk nor the biodiversity to have such a phenomena support hungry Wolverine.

          Now in my own personal opinion, Siberia and Canada boast strong populations and not always in jagged / cliff prone places like the rockies. So I think that its local adaptability to whatever viable food source works. They studied a specific region so all their knowledge is based on that environment. As far as the occasional Wolverine in the Adirondacks. I think while not completely impossible it would "very" unlikely since there is not a nearby seed population (Wolverine are known to travel hundreds of miles) so you never know, but again unlikely just based on the distance. Like the Cougar that happened through after traveling thousands of miles strange things can happen. I have though seen many fisher. And a few that were really really big animals. So one possibility (I am only guessing ofcourse without a photo) is that you saw a huge adult Fisher after a feeding. No matter what is was amazing sight and thanks for sharing...
          The more wilderness in the Adirondacks, the better.

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          • #6
            Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience.

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            • #7
              The last time I was there the Watertown Zoo had a wolverine(s) and fisher(s). They were very active and you could get within 10-15 ft. of them. There is quite a difference in size and appearance. Would be hard to mistake one from the other.
              Izaak Walton a great writer? He can't even spell COMPLETE.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by montcalm View Post
                It's quite possible that Wolverines are able to reproduce in the Tug Hill region, but it's never been confirmed. It's probably the only area of NY other than above 4k feet on mountains that has enough snow pack for them to rear kits.
                A couple of years ago, I looked into this quite a bit as a lover of the 'Dacks, Tug Hill, and wolverines. After reading about the wolverine that had taken up residence on Michigan's "thumb" (nearly identical latitude/less snow than here) several years ago, I dug a little deeper. Tug Hill's core forest region and the High Peaks might accrue enough snow in terms of snowpack, but do not hold snow long enough at depths needed for wolverines to raise a brood. They require deep snows well into early summer, at least. This isn't to say there isn't an occasional wonderer moving through. Peter O' Shea, a superb naturalist, wrote of seeing one in the vicinity of Cranberry Lake.
                Zachary Wakeman
                http://www.zacharywakemanphotography.com/
                http://nynaturephotozw.blogspot.com/

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                • #9
                  Its an animal i am almost certain i've seen before. Wish i was a little closer to it to say 100 percent sure. It was a wolverine or i misjudged the size of a fisher.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Zachnaturephotographer View Post
                    A couple of years ago, I looked into this quite a bit as a lover of the 'Dacks, Tug Hill, and wolverines. After reading about the wolverine that had taken up residence on Michigan's "thumb" (nearly identical latitude/less snow than here) several years ago, I dug a little deeper. Tug Hill's core forest region and the High Peaks might accrue enough snow in terms of snowpack, but do not hold snow long enough at depths needed for wolverines to raise a brood. They require deep snows well into early summer, at least. This isn't to say there isn't an occasional wonderer moving through. Peter O' Shea, a superb naturalist, wrote of seeing one in the vicinity of Cranberry Lake.
                    Is there any place in the ADKs that has snow into the early summer?

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                    • #11
                      Ice Cave Mt.
                      "A culture is no better than its woods." W.H. Auden

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Boreal Fox View Post
                        Is there any place in the ADKs that has snow into the early summer?
                        I've never seen more than patches- that was in the High Peaks.

                        Here is a link to some data on wolverines: http://wolverinefoundation.org/
                        Zachary Wakeman
                        http://www.zacharywakemanphotography.com/
                        http://nynaturephotozw.blogspot.com/

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