Mystery Animal Walking Through Camp So Rare Hiker Asks Internet to Identify

Images of an unusual animal spotted at a campsite in Montana have generated discussion among users on Reddit.
The pictures were shared in a viral post on Reddit under the username Gyrtohorea. The August 31 post has received 24,000 upvotes.
The series of images shows a bearlike animal appearing to go across a field, before looking back at the camera in the final shot. A caption shared with the post asks, “This guy walked right up to our cooking spot while camping in Montana, what could it be?”
According to a later comment from the poster, the animal was spotted at Cracker Lake.
The poster said that the animal “reared up a little bit on its hind legs when I stood up surprised, then started scampering away when I fumbled for my camera…. These are some of the better pictures I managed to get before it basically scaled up the side of the mountain we were next to.”
Regina Domingo is a conservationist and wildlife expert who is the founder of the Nakawe Project, a nonprofit dedicated to engaging communities in wildlife conservation and sustainable ecotourism development.
Domingo told Newsweek that she believes the animal in question is a carcajou, also known as a wolverine, a member of the Mustelidae family.
Domingo said they are primarily scavengers, often relying on carrion left by larger predators like wolves. Solitary animals, they’re very similar to pumas, the largest of the small cat species.
They used to be seen in California, but over the years their populations have decreased a lot. But some remain in Wyoming as well as in the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, Domingo said.
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) says wolverines are historically known to be in the Sierra Nevada in California as well as the southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.
Their populations are known to be in the North Cascades Range of Washington and the Northern Rockies of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, as well as in a small part of Oregon in the Wallowa Range, the NWF says. They also reside in Alaska, Canada and Russia.
It is estimated that 25 to 300 live in the Lower 48 states, according to the NWF, which says that “wildlife biologists were awed and excited by the sighting of a lone wolverine in California in 2008 and 2009.”
Wolverines in the Lower 48 states are being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
While wolverines were never a common species and were widely persecuted, “the primary reason now for a threatened listing is climate change” because they “need deep snow to birth and rear their young,” the NWF says.
“It is estimated that due to climate change, within 30 years, about 30 percent of wolverine habitat in the lower 48 states will be gone,” it adds. “Within about 70 years, an estimated 60 percent of their habitat will be lost in the lower 48 states. With snowpack melting earlier, scientists project wolverine habitat will shrink significantly by the end of the century.”
In a later comment, the poster of the Reddit post said that the images were captured in September 2017 at Cracker Lake. “My wife and I had planned a backpacking trip in the park, but it was a really bad wildfire year,” the poster recalled. The couple ended up booking three nights at Cracker Lake.
The poster said that “shortly after we booked, the park closed all reservations due to the wildfires, so when we got to the lake, no one else was there and we had it to ourselves for the three days, with only an occasional day hiker visiting the area.
“Either the first or second night, the wind was absolutely whipping around the canyon we are in, and the air is thick with smoke, and we are quietly cooking our food in the designated food prep area, when my wife turns to her side and sees this guy about 10 feet from us,” the poster said.
The viral post has intrigued and excited users on Reddit, including several who also said the mystery animal is a wolverine.
Material_Prize_6157 said, “Yeah that’s one of the rarest mammals in North America. The Wolverine. Really really cool. Super jealous. They’re one of those animals that even the biologists who study them have a hard time spotting.”
“Wolverine baby! You’re so lucky to see one IRL [in real life],” said helenagoblet.
IFeel_Bonita wrote: “Omg a Wolverine!!!!!!”
Glitch427119 said, “OMG what an amazing sighting. That shot with the face is a beautiful and clear picture too. I’m so jealous, getting to see a real wolverine in the wild is so special.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
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Correction 09/09/24, 5:17 a.m. ET: This article was updated with the correct location as Cracker Lake.