Rare Wolverine Sighting Caught on Camera in Portland! (Video)

Two Oregon fishermen have encountered a rare wolverine along the Columbia River near Portland.

An incredibly rare wolverine sighting has been captured on camera in Portland.

It was the first confirmed report of a wolverine outside of the Wallowa Mountains in over 30 years, state officials said Wednesday.

The elusive creature was spotted on the banks of the Columbia River near Portland by two anglers on March 20, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

This is the first time a wolverine has been spotted outside of Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains in over three decades.

Wolverines are extremely rare. In 2016, it was estimated there were only 300 left in the U.S. It was widely believed that they had been eradicated from Oregon by 1936 but various sightings were made between the 1960s and the 1990s. A monitoring project from 2010 to 2012 found three wolverines living in the northeastern part of the state.

Wolverines are listed as a threatened species in Oregon. They are the biggest member of the weasel family and are sometimes mistaken for small bears.

According to the agency, wolverines are widely distributed in Canada and Alaska, with smaller populations occurring in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon, which is at the southern edge of the current wolverine range in North America. They are also strongly associated with snowpack.

Biologists believe it is likely that this animal was dispersing as “the habitat in the area doesn’t meet the life history requirements of wolverines.”

ODFW said the chances that the wolverine remains in the Portland metro area and is detected again are relatively low, but it could be observed again as it continues its travels.

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