TRUCKEE, Calif. - The first wolverine to be spotted in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range since 1922 has been photographed north of the town of Truckee.

The photo was taken in a relatively pristine part of Tahoe National Forest that Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Hilda Solis have proposed to protect as a Wilderness Study Area under their California Wild Heritage Act.

The wolverine, which scientists said last year was long gone from the region, was photographed by a graduate student's remote control camera in the Tahoe National Forest, The Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday.

William Zielinski, a carnivore specialist and research ecologist with the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Field Research Station, said it is not yet known whether the animal is a native of the mountain range or whether it recently entered the area from another location.

The last wolverine previously seen in Sierra Nevada was killed in 1922 as a scientific specimen.

The discovery came amid a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service review of whether wolverines should be added to the endangered species list.

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