Wolverines are remarkably elusive creatures, well-known both for their aggressivity and their ability to stay hidden. The wolverine resembles a large ferret, only they weigh 40 lbs and are much, much meaner. Suffice it to say that there’s a reason why the comic book character was named Wolverine and not, say, Pine Marten.
This remarkable video, filmed near Ajax Mountain in Beaverhead County (where Hank Williams Jr. once suffered a life-changing and very nearly fatal fall), shows a sneaky wolverine stalking a deer and swimming with astonishing speed through the water. Then it tears up the hill with even more incredible speed. The second half of the video shows the deer, its prey, getting out of dodge.
As one of the commenters on the video pointed out, “this was a very clear video of a wolverine, that showed one for several minutes. 99.9% of lifelong residents in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Colorado will never get to see even a glimpse of a wolverine because they are so rare, and you got one on video. I don’t think that many of the commenters know, appreciate, or understand how lucky it was to get this video. There is no other video at all whatsoever of a wolverine in these six states.”
Of course, that’s not true anymore as just a short while ago the National Park Service announced they caught footage of a wolverine on a backcountry trail cam near the Mammoth Hot Springs area.
Wolverines are rare in part because they were highly sought after for their pelts throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though initially seen across more of the United States, they require thick snow for their dens. As a result, the Rocky Mountains are among their last natural homes.
See the whole video below!