Wolverine killed in trap in east-central Idaho

Idaho wildlife officials say a trapper reported finding a wolverine dead in a trap in east-central Idaho.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game in a news release Tuesday says the Idaho trapper reported finding the adult female wolverine inadvertently caught in his trap in Lemhi County on Dec. 8.

Idaho has not allowed a hunting or trapping season for wolverines since 1965.

Wolverines were wiped out across most of the U.S. by the 1930s. In the Lower 48 states, an estimated 250 to 300 wolverines survive in remote areas of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon and Washington state.

Fish and Game spokesman Roger Phillips says the trapped wolverine will be mounted for educational purposes and kept at the agency’s office in Salmon.