March 14 (UPI) -- A rare wolverine was photographed walking across a snowy road in Yellowstone National Park by a tour guide that came across its path.
MacNeil Lyons, a former park ranger who owns the tour company Yellowstone Insight, photographed the wolverine from the window of his vehicle while leading a tour group on March 5.
"We felt beyond elated at this chance encounter with this elusive creature," Lyons wrote in a Facebook post.
"We rounded the corner heading westbound and in the oncoming lane was a low-to-the-ground, dark animal loping away from us."
Lyons said his guest initially thought the animal was a young black bear until the group realized it was a wolverine.
"We were able to spend three full minutes in the presence of this unique and rare animal. By its size, I assume that it is a healthy male," Lyons said.
"The wolverine was curious for a bit. It jumped onto the snow berm adjacent our lane twice and returned to the road to size us up as our vehicle was stopped, idle."
He said that the wolverine eventually bounded up a hill when another car approached but when the car passed, Lyons was able to take the prized photographs.
The images are significant because wolverines themselves are rarely seen and only seven have been documented as living in Yellowstone and adjoining national parks, according to the National Parks Service.
The number of wolverines dwindled substantially in the 1930s because of commercial trapping and predator control efforts. Plans to list them as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act are on hold as researchers determine the effects of climate change on their habitats.
Most images of wolverines in Yellowstone National Park come from researchers using remote cameras to record their activity.
Because of their rarity, conservation groups like Wolverine Watch encourage people who come across them to photograph them and report details of the sighting such as GPS coordinates and descriptions of the animal's behavior.
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