The Wolverine . . . Rough Sledding for a Tough Customer

Independent, strong and ferocious, the North American wolverine (Gulo gulo) is a true symbol of our American wilderness. The wolverine's legendary appetite, strength and fierce disposition give it a reputation as one of the most tenacious carnivores around. However, the wolverine makes its living more as a scavenger than a hunter. Relying on dead animals, especially large mammals, the wolverine needs strength to establish and defend its food caches, and endurance to survive long periods without food.

Wolverines are the largest land member of the weasel family, with an average weight of about 30 pounds. They are rumored to be able to drag a whole moose carcass with their compact, heavily muscled bodies. Wolverines have been given the name "skunk bear' because of their gold or reddish-brown bands that run from each shoulder to the tail through the shaggy brown coat, much like a skunk. In shape, wolverines resemble a bear cub with a bushy tail. Wolverines are also known as gluttons, which is why they got the scientific name Gulo gulo.

Once inhabiting forests in the lower 48 states from Maine to Washington and south along the Rocky Mountains into Arizona and New Mexico, the wolverine, like the lynx, wolf and grizzly bear, is almost gone. Wolverines are sensitive to development, and therefore require large, roadless forests with an abundance and variety of small and large animals. Because they are scavengers, wolverines are susceptible to baited traps, even those set for other animals. Wolverines themselves are trapped for their pelts. These impacts have made it rough sledding for this tough customer.

Healthy populations of wolverines may now occur in the lower 48 states only in Montana and Idaho, while scattered individuals may persist in Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and California. So little is known about this far-ranging creature, which may have a territory of hundreds of square miles, that scientists have no good estimate of its population strength. Yet, management agencies continue to push roads into wolverine habitat, and Montana still permits trapping of wolverine and other animals in wolverine habitat.