Wolverine captured near Yellowknife airport after a week in the city - Action News
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Wolverine captured near Yellowknife airport after a week in the city

A wolverine spotted around Yellowknife that had eluded capture for nearly a week was trapped Wednesday morning, according to wildlife officials.

Animal first spotted near middle school was caught in live trap and relocated

This wolverine was spotted in Yellowknife several times over the past week, including at a housing development in Kam Lake. It has been captured, wildlife officials say. (Joshua Lefneski/Facebook)

A wolverine spotted around Yellowknife that eluded capture for nearly a week was caught in a live trap Wednesday morning, say wildlife officials.

Wildlife officers found the animal in a live trap they'd set up in an area near the airport, using fish to lure itin.

Apart from a few scratch marks on the cage, the animal did not appear in distress, said Adrian Lizotte, manager of wildlife and environment for theNorth Slave region.

"The wolverine seemed pretty calm, to be honest," Lizotte said.

"It did claw at the trap a little bit, but there were no sounds of any grunting."

The animal was then transportedby truck about 160 kilometres out of the city, Lizottesaid. Since it doesn't show signs of being habituated to city life, it's unlikely it will return.

The elusive animal had been spotted a few times in the past seven days. First it was seen near the brush at William McDonald middle school last week. After escaping through a hole in the fencing, the animal returned a few days later.

Yesterday, the wolverine was noticed at the Armed Forces barracks near the airport where officers found it eating something. That was where they set the trap that caught the wolverine.

This is the second series of interactions between wolverines and Yellowknife residents in the past two months.

In October, residents reported another wolverine hadraided garbage cans and stole moose meat from a cooler left outside.

That wolverine was also trapped and relocated out of town.