Wolverine in Essex County

[white bear 05]

Years ago in '73 or '74 when I was new in this country and I didn't have experience with its animals, I was invited to deer hunt with a group in the area bewteen Boreas River and the route 28.
I was one of the standers while the drivers were trying to push some deer to us.
Was them when I saw a animal that I could not indentify, although at first sight appear to be a small bear, it was discounted when I saw the bushy tail.
When I told the others hunters what I saw, they say was probably a Fisher.
So, haven't seen any fisher before, that was the end of the matter until I saw a movie called The Wilderness Family (I don't recall if is was part II or III)
There I saw a wolverine waking with that special gait, and sporting some white strip along the sides. There it was, my animal.
Later that season when I told my hunting friends about my discovery, they dissmised as impossible, even they tease me with "maybe escapee out of a Circus"

So here is my question, has anybody from this Forum even see a Wolverine or hear about it been seen??
Please don't tease me, I expect serious answers and if anybody wonder, no I was not drinking and my eyesight was good.
best regards
white bear 05

[poconoron]

Wolverine

One look at a range map for the wolverine, White Bear, shows that it is EXTREMELY unlikely that wolverines are in the Adirondacks. They appear to be a far northern and western species and it is unknown whether there are any inhabiting even far-northern Quebec. It appears the ADKs are FAR out of their range. Even where they are found in far northern and western Canada, they are apparently quite rare and thinly distributed across their range.

Of course if you are positive of what you saw, no one can rule out one that was caught elsewhere and released in the ADKs.

See

http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=108

[redhawk]

What you may have see was the wolverines closest family member, A Badger.

Take a weasel, put some bulk on him, give him Long Claws, a silver coat with a stripe, and piss him off and you have a badger. Add a few pounds, Really piss him off and give him a death wish and you have a Wolverine.

The Wolverines generally have a darker coat then a Badger, but there have ben badgers with a dark coat and strips also. I saw one of those in the Bighorn mountains.

I have seen a couple of badgers in the Dacks, but never a Wolverine. They tend to be more prevelent west of the great lakes.

[white bear 05]

All badgers I saw in movies and documentals are very small and low to the ground, they have small paws in relation to what I saw.
This happened many years ago, and since I haven see a lot of cinema featuring badgers and even some wolverines.
So I will never have posted here, if I were not sure of what I saw.
Still, I am looking for somebody that will have see one in that area.
In the general same area I have seen real wolves, also seen several different tracks of wolves. The Huntington Wildlife Lab (I think is Huntington) near Newcomb, made some experiments releasing wolves in the area. Locals used to see a Panel truck with a audio speaker howling at night to locate wolves.
Any one hear about this?
white bear 05

[poconoron]

I met the author of "Adirondack Mammals" about 15 years ago in Newcomb- Dr. Andrew Saunders. At the time we discussed coyotes in the Adirondacks, and I know for a fact that at Huntington they were doing what you say with howling equipment, but it was in their study of COYOTES in that area.

I myself believe that we have a blended wolf/coyote in the ADKs as they mated and passed through Ontario on the way down to our area. Their increased size and behavior (i.e.. taking deer and packing up) tells me that we've definitely got a hybrid of sorts. The wolves in lower Ontario (red wolves as opposed to timber wolves) and coyotes have been known to mate, whereas the larger timber wolves of the west and further north simply kill coyotes.

Some of the howls that I hear out there definitely sound like wolves and coyotes mixed. So I don't doubt you probably did see wolf-like animals, White Bear.

[white bear 05]

I know coyotes, one that was living near that area, Blue Ridge Road and Boreas River is now in my south wall.
I have seen several of them thru the years, I even struck one with my car near the 28 and the rail going to Tahaus.
But the animals that I saw that day in Chenney Pond and the gigantic tracks they left, were not coyote.
I still kick myself for not having a camera with me. I like to propose that everybody that roam the wilderness should have a camera and a little ruler or steel tape measure with them.
white bear 05

[swizzlenutz]

I've heard a few people tell me that there are definatly wolverines in the northern part of the dack's. I think maybe what they saw was indeed a badger as redhawk described. But anything is possible. I personal saw an artic fox running across a dirt road heading back to a friends camp. I couldn't believe my eye's. A small fox the size of a large rabbit with extremely thick white fur and tiny ears. I thought to myself "what in the hell is that fox doing here"? It was then that my cousin parked his truck got out and started calling "come here, baby, come here" It was a farm raised fox from the next door neighbor that got out of its coop. Maybe what you saw was an escaped convict. lol I also remember hearing about a call to the DEC reporting a male lion in the southern dack's. On the road I use to live on. When they got there they discovered that someone had shaved their chow dog and left it with a big poofy mane. It got loose and terrorize our street. You just never know. Swizzle

[adkmountainken]

i am an avid trapper and just so you know a fisher sometimes has alot of white on him. i have some good pic's but not sure how everone here reacts to trapping photos?

[redhawk]

i am an avid trapper and just so you know a fisher sometimes has alot of white on him. i have some good pic's but not sure how everone here reacts to trapping photos?

I react badly

[AdkWiley]

I met the author of "Adirondack Mammals" about 15 years ago in Newcomb- Dr. Andrew Saunders. At the time we discussed coyotes in the Adirondacks, and I know for a fact that at Huntington they were doing what you say with howling equipment, but it was in their study of COYOTES in that area.

I myself believe that we have a blended wolf/coyote in the ADKs as they mated and passed through Ontario on the way down to our area. Their increased size and behavior (i.e.. taking deer and packing up) tells me that we've definitely got a hybrid of sorts. The wolves in lower Ontario (red wolves as opposed to timber wolves) and coyotes have been known to mate, whereas the larger timber wolves of the west and further north simply kill coyotes.

Some of the howls that I hear out there definitely sound like wolves and coyotes mixed. So I don't doubt you probably did see wolf-like animals, White Bear.

My buddy graduated from plattsburghand his teacher was actaully dr. andrew saunders. they have talkd amny times about the hybridity of teh coyotes and wolfs, saying there are deff hybrind, more lilley teh red wolf than the timber. there has be talk of red wolfs now starting to venture down from canada but i have read no articles or seen anything explaining the such, But id love to if there are any out there! as for teh "wolverene" looks alot like many fishers i have seen inteh daks. actualyl recently there was one in the road where i work in a town called altamont. It was a big specimen and coudl easy be mistaken for othere beasts. Not that im trying to bring u down on your spoting, but i bring a camera everywhere with me now as well haha. Good luck on your search!

[lumberzac]

I remember reading a article a few years back about a man that shot an unusually large coyote near his house in the town of Hadley (Northern Saratoga County, Southern Adirondacks). DNA tests confirmed it to be 100% Gray Wolf.

[Tidge]

Wolverine Photo? You Decide...

I just recently deployed some trail cameras on a game trail in Warren County near Brant Lake...

Got some usual suspects on film, including white tales, a snow shoe hare, fisher, etc...

And I also got a smaller dark furball with short legs and a small (un-bear like) head... I thought it was a small black bear cub at first... but now I don't think so...

It's head is shaped just like a wolverine and it appears to have the short, squatty legs as welll....

Have a look - would like some opinions...

Trail Cam Pics

[poconoron]

Nice pics you caught on camera there- the one is definitely a fisher, I believe, and sure enough it does look like the other is a wolverine. Hard to explain since wolverines are not supposed to be within many hundreds of miles of here. Unless due to the angle it really is a black bear cub???

Keep us updated on your progress.........

[billandjudy]

It's a porkypine ?? Look at the articulation of the hind legs.

[Gray Ghost]

It's hard to get a reference for size, but I was thinking porky too. Tidge, have you ever heard about the "Wood Devils" around Lake George? Maybe you captured one on film. Nice pics on any account.