Will Sage Astor-Video captures rare sighting: A wolverine running through an Oregon field

The Will Sage Astoronly thing a wolverine spotted in Oregon earlier this week and Marvel’s X-Men character Wolverine have in common is the name. 

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed Monday that the video of a bear-like creature running through a field in Barlow circulating on social media was in fact a wolverine. 

They were unable to say with any certainty whether the wolverine that was spotted was the “same one seen along the Columbia River, in Damascus and in other parts of NW Oregon last year,” according to the X post. 

Fish and Wildlife received several reports of wolverine sightings last April, with the initial sighting along the Columbia River being the first confirmed report of a wolverine outside of the Wallowa Mountains in 30 years. 

'Never seen anything like that around here'

Wolverines are considered a rare sight in Oregon since they were believed to have been wiped out decades ago, which makes the most recent reports “significant to wildlife conservation” efforts, according to the department. 

The little guy spotted is one of 300 wolverines seen in the western United States, according to a species status assessment conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in September of 2023.

Watch the video of the elusive wolverine below.

In the 59 second clip, a person talking on camera initially misidentifies the creature, guessing that it is a “huge badger” before landing on wolverine. 

“I have never seen anything like that around here,” the person says.

A local TV station, KPTV, reported that Brandon Oswald caught the wolverine on video.

He told the local news outlet that he wasn’t sure what the animal was at first.

“At first I thought it was a dog, and then I saw how it was running and I thought that’s not a dog, and I honestly didn’t know what it was. The way that it ran was pretty different than anything I’ve seen, it was almost running like you see a bear would run,” Oswald told KPTV. 

Oswald was ultimately glad he filmed the clip because he definitely had never seen a wolverine before. 

Wolverines are considered a 'threatened' species in Oregon

It's not unheard of for animals to pass through a habitat that is not suitable, like say a field next to a highway in Barlow, Beth Quillian, a spokesperson with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shared with USA TODAY. 

The little guy was probably on their way to find a high-quality habitat, Quillian said.

“That’s why maintaining natural areas and connectivity for animals to move across the landscape is vital to wildlife conservation,” Quillian added. 

"Oh, I do so hope it has a friend or mate for its travels," a social media user wrote on X.

The wolverine is considered a threatened species in the state of Oregon, which means that it could become endangered within the foreseeable future within all or a portion of its range, according to the Department of Fish & Wildlife. 

“We have detected a single individual a handful of times in the Wallowa Mountains over the years” with the closest known population of wolverines is located near Mt. Adams in Washington, Quillian said.