Wolverines are famous for their stocky bodies, immense strength and aggressive nature, but is that all there is to these unique creatures? It is true that Northern US states and Canada are home to small wolverine populations and there is a reason for the small numbers. They are elusive animals and rarely seen in the wild. This is because where wolverines live is less accessible to humans or researchers. There is still much to learn about their behaviour and lifestyle. Read on to learn more.
Habitat
Wolverines prefer cold, snowy climates and can be found across the Arctic tundra, from North America to Northern Asia. They thrive in boreal and alpine forests with lots of coniferous trees such as spruce and pine. They can also be found in remote mountainous regions with thick snow coverage and alpine meadows with areas of vegetation growth.
A small population of wolverines live in Yellowstone national park, as well as the Northern Rockies and several Canadian states.
Fun fact: wolverines are solitary and require a large territory for hunting
Wolverines have large home ranges, which means even a large area such as Yellowstone national park can only support a small population without too much overlap of territories.
Females typically have a range of 100-120 square miles, whereas males may need double this territory size.
How Tall is Wolverine? – Appearance
The wolverine is a member of the weasel family, growing almost 50 inches (127 cm) long from nose to tail and weighing between 15 and 30 pounds (7 – 14 kg). Standing, the wolverine is approximately 20 inches tall (51 cm), which would reach knee height relative to an average sized human.
Fun fact: the wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family
Resembling a small bear, wolverines are built to live in cold climates, with thick, coarse hair and large clawed feet. They have a face similar to that of a dog or a bear, with forward facing eyes and small, rounded ears.
Wolverines have dark hair around their snout, with lighter colouring around the eyes and head. Their long body hair is usually a chestnut or tawny brown, while the legs are a darker chocolate brown. The bushy tail is dark like the legs and each foot ends with sharp, non-retractable claws.
What Do Wolverines Eat? – Diet
Being omnivorous animals, wolverines hunt for prey animals predominantly, but they will also eat vegetation such as berries and plants during late spring and through summer.
Their main diet consists of small mammals like rabbits and hares, squirrel, field mice and grouse, but they will also take down larger prey, especially if they are vulnerable. This includes deer, caribou and elk. Calves are the most common hunts, but wolverines will also take down injured or old animals or even recent kills made by larger predators.
Wolverines are not afraid to fight for their food and have been observed chasing off bears for a fresh kill. The wolverine is nowhere near as tall as the mighty bear but it is extremely strong for its smaller size. They are opportunistic animals and will also feed from carrion – animal carcasses – if they come across one during a hunt. Carrion makes up a large part of a wolverine’s winter diet when food resources are scarce.
In some environments, wolverines have also been known to utilise their keen digging skills to catch hibernating or nesting animals from underground dens and burrows.
Also Read: What Do Moose Eat?
Social Behaviour & Reproduction
Wolverines are not social animals. They are solitary creatures, only coming together briefly during the breeding season. Both males and females have large territories which they mark using scent glands and urination.
Male wolverines live in larger territories than females and their territory may overlap with two or three female territories.
From limited observation of wild populations, it is believed that wolverine males are polygamous and will mate with any females they come across during the breeding season.
Breeding season begins in May and lasts until August, but most matings occur in June and July. Interestingly, once a fertilized egg becomes a blastocyst (8-cell stage of development), the egg development pauses.
Pregnant mothers will dig a cubbing den into the snow ready for the birth. This gives the mother a place to keep her kits safe from the elements and potential predators.
Fertilised eggs will not implant in the uterus until late November or early December, with kits being born in February and March. This is the ideal time to birth a litter as there will be new growth of vegetation and prey animals will also be giving birth, so food is plentiful.
Steep Learning Curve for Kits
Litters are usually two or three kits, but a female can give birth to a litter size from one to four. Smaller litters of one or two are more common, since wolverines are a low-density species. Wolverines require a large territory to live in, so a large litter would mean lower survival rates for youngsters.
Fun fact: wolverine kits are born white, with their colour developing around 3 weeks after birth
Unlike most animals born naked or with only partial fur coverage, wolverine kits are born with a full fur coat. They are born with their eyes closed and will experience a teething period just like any other mammal young.
Mothers will begin weaning their kits around 9 weeks of age and they will accompany their mother on hunts. This is an important learning curve for when they leave her to establish their own territories.
Offspring stay with their mother until age 1 but do not reach sexual maturity in the first year. Females become sexually mature from 18 months of age, but most do not have a surviving litter before they are 3 years old. Male wolverines reach sexual maturity between the age of 2 and 3.
Conservation
Wolverines are still listed on the IUCN red list as ‘least concern’ but their numbers are decreasing. The main reasons for this are:
- Large territory ranges
- Low reproductive rates
- Habitat loss
- Climate change/increasing temperatures
- Environmental changes
- Hunting/trapping
Trapping and hunting by locals and farmers does have a big impact on the wolverine population and their low reproductive rates make it difficult for them to recover from a sudden population crash. Improved farming safety measures would mean farmers do not have to trap and kill wolverines to protect their livestock.
Local states also need better policies in regard to forest loss where there are established wolverine populations.
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