Wolverines in AZ???

[Charger55]

I have a co-worker who fishes frequently at Buthcer Jones at Saguaro Lake. He likes to go at night after he gets off work. Last night he saw me looking at some HAZ pics of the recent mountain lion sighting on Peralta Trail and we got to talking about strange encounters with wildlife. He says that one night while fishing off the dock at Butcher Jones three large, very noisy creatures, which he later indentified as wolverines, came barreling through the bushes behind him. When I think wolverine I think tundra or the dense forests of Canada. Not the deserts of Arizona. I figured he may have seen badgers or coati, but after showing him pictures of those creatures he's positive they were wolverines. Wikipedia says wolverines wouldn't be found this far south. Another website I found specifically mentioned they are found in Arizona. Despite being a fisherman my co-worker isn't one to tell tall tales. So...

Has anyone here at HAZ ever seen a wolverine in our great state? I know most of the regulars here have way more backcountry and off-trail experience than me so I figured if they're found in an area that can get as busy as Butcher Jones somebody must have seen one somewhere. But there's no posting in the fauna section and I didn't see any other forum topics about them. I'm just curious if anyone knows for certain if they're out there or not.

[Al_HikesAZ]

Sounds like Javelina - and they can rumble. I don't think Coatis roam that far north in the Sonoran desert and I don't think badgers range that far south into the Sonoran desert. Maybe a Chupacabra? from Wikipedia ". . .a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail." But they are rarely seen in a pack. Except after drinking a lot of Mescal and eating too many gusanos.

[azbackpackr]

Sounds like Javelina - and they can rumble. I don't think Coatis roam that far north in the Sonoran desert and I don't think badgers range that far south into the Sonoran desert. Maybe a Chupacabra? from Wikipedia ". . .a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail." But they are rarely seen in a pack. Except after drinking a lot of Mescal and eating too many gusanos.

Coatis come up to Springerville area in summer. It is rare, but they have been seen here. Just FYI. So do javelinas, by the way.

[azhiker96]

I'm with you Al. I think chupacabra. They are solitary but if the fisherman had been drinking mescal the scent could have drawn them in.

[skatchkins]

There's a road in Apache Junction called "Wolverine Pass Road" that leads up toward the Goldfield Mtns right near Bulldog Wash (east of Usery Pass)....And wouldn't it also make sense that a pass would only get that name if there were actually wolverines spotted there sometime long ago?

Ore maybe they came out of the ground

[dave w]

well I have seen one just a week or 2 ago, no mix up, it was a wolverine up north of the mongollon rim in the junipers where i live, we have lots of badgers so it was not that and what a sight to see

[azbackpackr]

well I have seen one just a week or 2 ago, no mix up, it was a wolverine up north of the mongollon rim in the junipers where i live, we have lots of badgers so it was not that and what a sight to see

I don't know you or how reliable you are, but I'm prepared to believe you. However, I would bet tomorrow's paycheck if you call Game & Fish they won't believe you! I reported a bighorn ram in Pima Canyon (Tucson) some years ago, after they were reported to mostly be gone, and the game officer on the other end of the line did not believe me, at least, not at first.

[dave w]

i have hunted all my life and knowing what you see is very important so it was a wolverine and i like the fact that i seen one here and did not know that they are not very prone to see here, dave

[azbackpackr]

i have hunted all my life and knowing what you see is very important so it was a wolverine and i like the fact that i seen one here and did not know that they are not very prone to see here, dave

That's super. I have also heard of lynxes (not bobcats) being seen. I think lynxes are bigger and more silver colored than bobcats.