Wolverine

The wolverine's questionable reputation as an insatiable glutton (reflected in its Latin genus name Gulo, meaning "glutton") may be in part due to a false etymology. The less common name for the animal in Norwegian, fjellfross, meaning "mountain cat", is thought to have worked its way into German as Vielfraß,{{Cite web|title= Vielfraß | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft|url=https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Vielfrasz

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141109220237/http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Vielfrasz |archive-date=9 November 2014

|access-date=2023-02-07|website=www.duden.de|language=de}} which means "glutton" (literally "devours much"). Its name in other West Germanic languages is similar (e.g. {{langx|nl|veelvraat}}).

The Finnish name is ahma, derived from ahmatti, which is translated as "glutton". Similarly, the Estonian name is ahm, with the equivalent meaning to the Finnish name. In Lithuanian, it is ernis; in Latvian, tinis or āmrija.

The Eastern Slavic росомаха (rosomakha) and the Polish and Czech name rosomák seem to be borrowed from the Finnish rasva-maha (fat belly). Similarly, the Hungarian name is rozsomák or torkosborz which means "gluttonous badger".{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

In French-speaking parts of Canada, the wolverine is referred to as carcajou, borrowed from the Innu-aimun or Montagnais kuàkuàtsheu.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/carcajou |title=The Free Dictionary |publisher=The Free Dictionary |access-date=4 October 2010}} However, in France, the wolverine's name is glouton (glutton).

Purported gluttony is reflected neither in the English name wolverine nor in the names used in North Germanic languages. The English word wolverine (alteration of the earlier form, wolvering, of uncertain origin) probably implies "a little wolf". The name in Proto-Norse, erafaz and Old Norse, jarfr, lives on in the regular Icelandic name jarfi, regular Norwegian name jerv, regular Swedish name järv and regular Danish name jærv.

File:Gulo gulo.jpg of Germany at the Natural History Museum, Berlin]]

File:Gulo gulo - Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria - Genoa, Italy - DSC02641.JPG, Italy]]

Genetic evidence suggests that the wolverine is most closely related to the tayra and martens, all of which shared a Eurasian ancestor.{{Cite journal | last1 = Koepfli | first1 = Klaus-Peter | title = Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: Resolving relationships, tempo and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation | journal = BMC Biology | volume = 6 | page = 10 | date = February 2008 | doi = 10.1186/1741-7007-6-10 | pmid = 18275614 | last2 = Deere | first2 = KA | last3 = Slater | first3 = GJ | last4 = Begg | first4 = C | last5 = Begg | first5 = K | last6 = Grassman | first6 = L | last7 = Lucherini | first7 = M | last8 = Veron | first8 = G | last9 = Wayne | first9 = RK | pmc = 2276185 | doi-access = free }}

There are two subspecies: the Old World form, Gulo gulo gulo, and the New World form, G. g. luscus. Some authors had described as many as four additional North American subspecies, including ones limited to Vancouver Island (G. g. vancouverensis) and the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska (G. g. katschemakensis). However, the most currently accepted taxonomy recognizes either the two continental subspecies or G. gulo as a single Holarctic taxon.{{cite journal |last1=Tomasik |first1=Eric |last2=Cook |first2=Joseph A. |s2cid=14887344 |name-list-style=amp |title=Mitochondrial phylogeography and conservation genetics of wolverine (gulo gulo) of Northwestern North America |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=86 |pages=386–396 |year=2005 |doi=10.1644/BER-121.1 |issue=2 |citeseerx=10.1.1.385.2735}}

Recently compiled genetic evidence suggests most of North America's wolverines are descended from a single source, likely originating from Beringia during the last glaciation and rapidly expanding thereafter, though considerable uncertainty to this conclusion is due to the difficulty of collecting samples in the extremely depleted southern extent of the range.

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |image1=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Gulo gulo skull).jpg |caption1=Skull |image2=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Gulo gulo).jpg |caption2=Skeleton}}

Anatomically, the wolverine is an elongated animal that is low to the ground. With strong limbs, broad and rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears, it most closely resembles a large fisher. Though its legs are short, its large, five-toed paws with crampon-like claws and plantigrade posture enable it to climb up and over steep cliffs, trees and snow-covered peaks with relative ease.

The adult wolverine is about the size of a medium dog, with a body length ranging from {{convert|65|–|109|cm|in|abbr=on}}; standing {{convert|36|–|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} at the shoulder; and a tail length of {{convert|17|–|26|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}. Weight is usually {{convert|11|–|18|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in males, and in females {{convert|8|–|12|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.{{cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/mspecies/article-pdf/doi/10.1644/0.499.1/8071371/499-1.pdf |title=Gulo gulo|journal=Mammalian Species |year=1995 |publisher=The American Society of Mammalogists |doi=10.1644/0.499.1 |s2cid=253916056 |access-date=16 August 2021 }}{{cite book |last1=Burton |first1=Maurice |last2=Burton |first2=Robert |title=The international wildlife encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SOuIwf9ctK0C&pg=PA2959|access-date=16 September 2011 |year=1970 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7266-7 |pages=2959– |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231222619/http://books.google.com/books?id=SOuIwf9ctK0C&pg=PA2959 |archive-date=31 December 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wildlife/wsi/reports/769_WSI_769_RPT.PDF |title=The Northern Wolverine Project |website=Env.gov.bc.ca |access-date=20 August 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820012633/https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wildlife/wsi/reports/769_WSI_769_RPT.PDF }}{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/animals/mammal/gugu/all.html |title=Gulo gulo — USDA Forest Service |access-date=20 August 2021 }}{{cite journal |last1=Zigouris |first1=J. |last2=Schaefer |first2=J.A. |last3=Fortin |first3=C. |last4=Kyle |first4=C.J. |year=2013 |title=Phylogeography and post-glacial recolonization in wolverines (Gulo gulo) from across their circumpolar distribution |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=12 |page=e83837 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0083837 |pmid=24386287 |pmc=3875487 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...883837Z|doi-access=free }} Exceptionally large males of as much as {{convert|32|kg|lb|abbr=on}} are referenced in Soviet literature, though such weights are deemed in Mammals of the Soviet Union to be improbable.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov212001gept/mammalsofsov212001gept_djvu.txt |title=Mammals of the Soviet Union |year=1988 |access-date=16 September 2021 }}Holbrow, W. C. (1976). The biology, mythology, distribution, and management of the wolverine (Gulo gulo) in western Canada. The University of Manitoba (Masters Thesis).Krott, P. (1959). Demon of the North. A.A. Knopf, New York. 260pp. (Translated from German). The males are often 10–15% larger than the females in linear measurements and can be 30–40% greater in weight. According to some sources, Eurasian wolverines are claimed to be larger and heavier than those in North America, with weights of up to {{convert|20|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. However, this may refer more specifically to areas such as Siberia, as data from Fennoscandian wolverines shows they are typically around the same size as their American counterparts.Weedle, F. (1968). The wolverine: the problems of a wilderness outcast. Defenders of Wildlife News 43: 156–168.Pulliainen, E. (1968). Breeding biology of the wolverine (Gulo gulo L.) in Finland. In Annales Zoologici Fennici (Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 338–344). Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board.Järvenpää, J., & Norberg, H. (2011). Carnivore Nature Guide. European Agricultural Fund

for Rural Development.Wiig, Ø. (1989). Craniometric variation in Norwegian wolverines Gulo gulo L. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 95(3), 177–204. It is the largest of terrestrial mustelids; only the marine-dwelling sea otter, the giant otter of the Amazon basin and the semi-aquatic African clawless otter are larger—while the European badger may reach a similar body mass, especially in autumn.

Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur which is highly hydrophobic, making it resistant to frost. This has led to its traditional popularity among hunters and trappers as a lining in jackets and parkas in Arctic conditions. A light-silvery facial mask is distinct in some individuals, and a pale buff stripe runs laterally from the shoulders along the side and crossing the rump just above a {{convert|25|–|35|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} bushy tail. Some individuals display prominent white hair patches on their throats or chests.

Like many other mustelids, it has potent anal scent glands used for marking territory and sexual signaling. The pungent odor has given rise to the nicknames "skunk bear" and "nasty cat." The anal gland secretion for the samples obtained from six animal's secretion was complex and variable: 123 compounds were detected in total, with the number per animal ranging from 45 to 71 compounds. Only six compounds were common to all extracts: 3-methylbutanoic acid, 2-methylbutanoic acid, phenylacetic acid, alpha-tocopherol, cholesterol, and a compound tentatively identified as 2-methyldecanoic acid. The highly odoriferous thietanes and dithiolanes found in anal gland secretions of some members of the Mustelinae [ferrets, mink, stoats, and weasels (Mustela spp.) and zorillas (Ictonyx spp.)] were not observed. The composition of the wolverine's anal gland secretion is similar to that of two other members of the Mustelinae, the pine and beech marten (Martes spp.){{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | last2 = Terwilliger | first2 = Miranda N. | last3 = Copeland | first3 = Jeffrey P. | year = 2005 | title = Volatile compounds from anal glands of the wolverine, Gulo gulo | journal = J. Chemical Ecology | volume = 31 | issue = 9 | pages = 2111–2117| doi=10.1007/s10886-005-6080-9| pmid = 16132215 | bibcode = 2005JCEco..31.2111W | s2cid = 6072649 }}

Wolverines, like other mustelids, possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees, towards the inside of the mouth. This special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid.{{cite web | last = Pratt | first = Philip | title = Dentition of the Wolverine | publisher = The Wolverine Foundation, Inc. | url = http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/dentition.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527021506/http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/dentition.htm | archive-date = 27 May 2008 | access-date = 1 July 2007}}{{cite web | last = Taylor | first = Ken | title = Wolverine | work = Wildlife Notebook Series | publisher = Alaska Department of Fish & Game | year = 1994 | url = http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/wolverin.php | access-date = 21 January 2007 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206233223/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/wolverin.php | archive-date = 6 December 2006}}

Wolverine have the highest compressive strength per trabecular bone volumetric fraction at the mandibular condyle among all carnivore mammals at 940.8 Newtons, followed by the cheetah at 784.4 Newtons, the Malagasy civet at 714.4 Newtons, the honey badger at 710.8 Newtons and the kinkajou at 693.2 Newtons.{{Cite journal |last1=Wysocki |first1=M. A. |last2=Tseng |first2=Z. J. |date=2018 |title=Allometry predicts trabecular bone structural properties in the carnivoran jaw joint |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=e0202824 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202824 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6108490 |pmid=30142221|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1302824W }}

File:Wolverine on rock.jpg

File:Mt. Forbes summit; wolverine tracks.jpg ]]

Wolverines live primarily in isolated arctic, boreal, and alpine regions of northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia, and Fennoscandia; they are also native to European Russia, the Baltic countries, the Russian Far East, northeast China and Mongolia.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-10 |title=Wolverine {{!}} Size, Habitat, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/wolverine |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The Wolverine Foundation {{!}} Wolverine Distribution |url=https://wolverinefoundation.org/distribution |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=The Wolverine Foundation |language=en-US}}LIU Xu, MA Ming, XU Fujun, XIONG Jiawu, Zhu Shibing, CUI Shaopeng, JIANG Zhigang, ZHANG Tong, GUO Hong, ERBOLAT Tuoliuhan. A preliminary study of wolverine in Altay, Xinjiang[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2018, 38(5): 519–524.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-29 |title=Wolverine, facts and information |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/wolverine |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}

Wolverine remains have been found in Ukraine, but they are extirpated there today and it is unclear whether the wolverines would have formed sustainable populations.{{cite web|last1=Marciszak|first1=Adrian|last2=Kovalchuk|first2=Oleksandr|date=July 2011|title=The wolverine Gulo gulo Linnaeus, 1758 from the Late Pleistocene site at Kaniv: a short review of the history of the species in the Ukraine|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233685436|access-date=October 5, 2021|website=researchgate.net}}

Unique records of encounters with wolverines have been noted in Latvia, the most recent one being in late July 2022 (although it can be disputed because of the unclear footage); the population was widespread in the 16th and 17th centuries, but nowadays it is not native to the area.{{Cite web |title=Mednieki Matīšu pagastā sastapušies ar neparastu, iepriekš neredzētu dzīvnieku |url=https://jauns.lv/raksts/zinas/512648-mednieki-matisu-pagasta-sastapusies-ar-neparastu-ieprieks-neredzetu-dzivnieku |access-date=25 Jul 2022 |website=Jauns.lv|date=25 July 2022 }}

Most New World wolverines live in Canada and Alaska. However, wolverines were once recorded as also being present in Colorado,{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Spencer |date=2023-08-24 |title=Wolverines could be next up for reintroduction in Colorado |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/wolverines-reintroduction-colorado/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}} areas of the southwestern United States (Arizona and New Mexico), the Midwest (Indiana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts) and in New York{{cite web|url=https://www.esf.edu/efb/lomolino/courses/MammalDiversity/labs/ExNYS.pdf|title=Extirpated and Rare Species of New York State|website=Esf.edu|access-date=2022-03-04|archive-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208155844/https://www.esf.edu/efb/lomolino/courses/MammalDiversity/labs/ExNYS.pdf|url-status=dead}} and Pennsylvania.{{cite web|url=https://nhpbs.org/wild/wolverine.asp |title=Wolverine – Gulo gulo | Wildlife Journal Junior |website=Nhpbs.org |date= |access-date=2022-02-28}}

In the Sierra Nevada, wolverines were sighted near Winnemucca Lake in spring 1995 and at Toe Jam Lake north of the Yosemite border in 1996; and later photographed by baited cameras, including in 2008 and 2009, near Lake Tahoe.{{cite news|last=Knudson |first=Tom |title=Sighting prompts California to expand search for elusive wolverine |newspaper=Sacramento Bee |date=5 April 2008 |url=http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/838651.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080718112823/http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/838651.html |archive-date=18 July 2008 }}{{cite news | last = Griffith | first = Martin | title = A year later, wolverine spotted again in Sierra | newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle | date = 22 March 2009 | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/22/state/n121949D73.DTL | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090426073503/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2009%2F03%2F22%2Fstate%2Fn121949D73.DTL | archive-date = 26 April 2009 | url-status = dead}}[http://yubanet.com/regional/Wolverine-Sighting-on-SPI-Land-near-Truckee.php Wolverine Sighting on SPI Land near Truckee] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206043010/http://yubanet.com/regional/Wolverine-Sighting-on-SPI-Land-near-Truckee.php |date=6 February 2011}}. yubanet.com. 18 March 2009{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2016-07-24/scientists-capture-rare-images-of-wolverine-in-sierra-nevada |title=Scientists capture rare images of wolverine in Sierra Nevada | U.S. News | US News |access-date=12 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183204/https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2016-07-24/scientists-capture-rare-images-of-wolverine-in-sierra-nevada |archive-date=13 September 2017}} According to a 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publication, "wolverines are found in the North Cascades in Washington and the Northern Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon (Wallowa Range), and Wyoming. Individual wolverines have also moved into historic range in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but have not established breeding populations in these areas".{{cite web|date=August 25, 2014|title=Endangered Species – Mountain Prairie Region – WOLVERINE|url=https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/species/mammals/wolverine/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706072115/https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/species/mammals/wolverine/|archive-date=July 6, 2017|publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service}} In 2022, Colorado Parks and Wildlife considered plans to reintroduce the wolverine to the state.{{cite web |url=https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/07/wolverine-reintroduction-colorado-parks-wildlife/ |title=Colorado Parks and Wildlife is dusting off a plan to reintroduce wolverines |work=The Colorado Sun |last=Blevins |first=Jason |date=7 March 2022 |access-date=21 March 2022}}

Wolverines are also found in Utah but are very rarely seen, with only six confirmed sightings since the first confirmed sighting in 1979. Three of these six confirmed Utah sightings have been caught on video.{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Carter|last2=July 2|first2=KSL com {{!}} Updated-|last3=July 1|first3=2021 at 11:04 a m {{!}} Posted-|last4=P.m|first4=2021 at 6:07|title=Rare wolverine sighting in Layton may be same animal spotted in May|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50197410/rare-wolverine-sighting-in-layton-may-be-same-animal-spotted-in-may|access-date=2021-10-05|website=www.ksl.com|language=en}} A wolverine, a male, was finally captured and tagged in Utah in 2022 before being released back into the wild to better understand the animal's range.{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Carter|title='A once-in-a-lifetime experience' Utah biologists catch wolverine 43 years after 1st sighting |access-date=2022-03-14|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50367540/a-once-in-a-lifetime-experience-biologists-catch-wolverine-43-years-after-species-1st-utah-sighting |publisher=www.ksl.com|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Madani|first=Doha|title=Rare wolverine captured in Utah is 'once-in-a-lifetime' find for researchers|access-date=2022-03-19|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/rare-wolverine-capture-utah-lifetime-find-researchers-rcna20163|website=NBC News|date=15 March 2022 |language=en}}

In August 2020, the National Park Service reported that wolverines had been sighted at Mount Rainier, Washington, for the first time in more than a century. The sighting was of a reproductive female and her two offspring.{{cite web |title=Wolverines Return to Mount Rainier National Park After More Than 100 Years |url=https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/news/wolverines-return-to-mount-rainier-national-park-after-more-than-100-years.htm |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=25 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824023811/https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/news/wolverines-return-to-mount-rainier-national-park-after-more-than-100-years.htm |archive-date=24 August 2020 |date=20 August 2020 |url-status=live}}

In 2004, the first confirmed sighting of a wolverine in Michigan since the early 19th century took place, when a Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist photographed a wolverine in Ubly, Michigan.{{Cite news

|title=First Michigan wolverine spotted in 200 years|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4374309|access-date=2023-02-07|website=NBC News

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160201063131/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4374309/ns/technology_and_science-science/

| archive-date= 1 February 2016

| agency= Associated Press

| date = 25 February 2004

| first = David| last = Runk

}} The specimen was found dead at the Minden City State Game Area in Sanilac County, Michigan in 2010.{{Cite web|last=Mattson|first=Kyle|date=18 January 2016

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701165217/https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/no_michigans_first_wolverine_i.html

| archive-date= 1 July 2018

|title=No, Michigan's first wolverine in 200 years was not just spotted|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/2016/01/no_michigans_first_wolverine_i.html|access-date=2023-02-07|website=mlive|language=en}}

File:Wolverine (Gulo gulo), Korkeasaari (video).webm of Helsinki]]

File:Ahma (Gulo gulo) 7 kallerna.jpg]]

Wolverines are primarily scavengers.{{cite journal |author=Van Dijk, J., Gustavsen, L., Mysterud, A., May, R., Flagstad, Ø., Brøseth, H., ... and Landa, A. |year=2008 |title=Diet shift of a facultative scavenger, the wolverine, following recolonization of wolves |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=77 |issue=6 |pages=1183–1190 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01445.x |pmid=18657209 |bibcode=2008JAnEc..77.1183V |doi-access=free}} Most of their food is carrion, especially in winter and early spring. They may find carrion themselves, feed on it after the predator (often, a wolf pack) has finished, or simply take it from another predator. Wolverines are known to follow wolf and lynx trails to scavenge the remains of their kills. Whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverine's feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of "glutton" (also the basis of the scientific name). However, this feeding style is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity, especially in winter.[http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=MA0160 Wolverine Gulo gulo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604183300/http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=MA0160 |date=4 June 2012}}, eNature.com

The wolverine is also a powerful and versatile predator. Its prey mainly consists of small to medium-sized mammals, but wolverines have been recorded killing prey many times larger than itself, such as adult deer. Prey species include porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, marmots, moles, gophers, rabbits, voles, mice, rats, shrews, lemmings, caribou, roe deer, white-tailed deer, mule deer, sheep, goats, cattle, bison, moose,{{cite journal |last1=Scrafford |first1=Matthew A. |last2=Boyce |first2=Mark S. |year=2018 |title=Temporal patterns of wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) foraging in the boreal forest |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=99 |issue=3 |pages=693–701 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyy030 |doi-access=free}} and elk.{{Cite web

| author1= Bret Weinstein

| author2= Liz Ballenger

| author3=Matthew Sygo

| work = Animal Diversity Web

| publisher= University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

|title=Gulo gulo| year = 1999

|url=http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/52386062/gulo_gulo_001.html|access-date=2023-02-07|archive-date=15 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015212645/http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/52386062/gulo_gulo_001.html|url-status=dead}} Smaller predators are occasionally preyed on, including martens, mink, foxes, Eurasian lynx,Heptner, V.G. and Sludskii, A.A. (1992). Humans are apparently exempt. Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II Part 2 Carnivora: Hyenas and Cats. New Delhi: Amerind Publishing, p. 625 weasels, coyote, and wolf pups. Wolverines have also been known to kill Canada lynx in the Yukon of Canada.{{cite book |last=Rockwood |first=Larry L |title=Introduction to Population Ecology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xHFuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA273 |url-status=live |publisher=Wiley |date=2015 |pages=273– |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505192841/https://books.google.com/books?id=xHFuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA273 |archive-date=5 May 2016 |isbn=978-1-118-94755-5}} Wolverines often pursue live prey that are relatively easy to obtain, including animals caught in traps, newborn mammals, and deer (including adult moose and elk) when they are weakened by winter or immobilized by heavy snow. Their diets are sometimes supplemented by birds' eggs, birds (especially geese), roots, seeds, insect larvae, and berries. Adult wolverines appear to be one of the few conspecific mammal carnivores to actively pose a threat to golden eagles. Wolverines were observed to prey on nestling golden eagles in Denali National Park.Petersen, M. R., D. N. Weir, and M. H. Dick. 1991. Birds of the Kilbuck and Ahklun Mountain Region, Alaska. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, North American Fauna 76, Washington, D.C. During incubation in Northern Sweden, an incubating adult golden eagle was killed in its nest by a wolverine.Bjärvall, A. and R. Franzén. 1986. Wolverine killed Golden Eagle. Fauna Och Flora 81:205-206.

Wolverines inhabiting the Old World (specifically, Fennoscandia) hunt more actively than their North American relatives.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wwf.se/source.php/1018447/Wolverine%20Symposium.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620034232/http://www.wwf.se/source.php/1018447/Wolverine%20Symposium.pdf|url-status=dead|title=World Wildlife Fund–Sweden: 1st International Symposium on Wolverine Research and Management|archive-date=20 June 2007|access-date=4 March 2022}} This may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are less dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it. They often feed on carrion left by wolves, so changes in wolf populations may affect the population of wolverines. They are also known on occasion to eat plant material.{{cite news |last=Rickert |first=Eve |title=The perils of secrecy |url=http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17093 |url-status=live |newspaper=High Country News |date=28 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040255/http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17093 |archive-date=28 September 2007}}

Wolverines often cache their food during times of plenty. This is of particular importance to lactating females in the winter and early spring, a time when food is scarce.{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/21590-wolverines-refrigerators-climate.html|title=Climate change could melt wolverines' snowy refrigerators|date=13 July 2012|access-date=22 October 2015|publisher=Live Science|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729015037/http://www.livescience.com/21590-wolverines-refrigerators-climate.html|archive-date=29 July 2015}}

Wolverines are induced ovulators.{{Cite journal |last1=Mead |first1=Rodney A. |last2=Bowles |first2=Mark |last3=Starypan |first3=Greg |last4=Jones |first4=Mike |date=1993-01-01 |title=Evidence for pseudopregnancy and induced ovulation in captive wolverines (Gulo gulo) |journal=Zoo Biology|language=en|volume=12|issue=4|pages=353–358|doi=10.1002/zoo.1430120405|issn=1098-2361}} Successful males will form lifetime relationships with two or three females, which they will visit occasionally, while other males are left without a mate. Mating season is in the summer, but the actual implantation of the embryo (blastocyst) in the uterus is stayed until early winter, delaying the development of the fetus. Females will often not produce young if food is scarce. The gestation period is 30–50 days, and litters of typically two or three young ("kits") are born in the spring. Kits develop rapidly, reaching adult size within the first year. The typical longevity of a wolverine in captivity is around 15 to 17 years, but in the wild the average lifespan is more likely between 8 and 10 years.{{Cite book|editor1-last=Feldhamer

|editor1-first=George A.

| first1= Jeffrey P. | last1= Copeland

| first2= Jackson S. | last2= Whitman

| chapter= Wolverine (Gulo gulo)

| pages= 672–681

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC&q=wolverine|title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation|editor2-last=Thompson

|editor2-first=Bruce C.

|editor3-last=Chapman|editor3-first=Joseph A.|date=2003|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1}}{{rp|676}} Fathers make visits to their offspring until they are weaned at 10 weeks of age; also, once the young are about six months old, some reconnect with their fathers and travel together for a time.

Wolves, American black bears, brown bears and cougars are capable of killing adult wolverines, while smaller predators (like golden eagles) can kill young and inexperienced individuals.Hornocker, M.G., Messick, J.P. & Melquist, W.E. 1981. "The wolverine in northwestern Montana". Canadian Journal of Zoology, 59: 1286–1301. Wolves are thought to be the wolverine's most important natural predator, with the arrival of wolves to a wolverine's territory presumably leading the latter to abandon the area.{{cite web |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-499-01-0001.pdf |title=Gulo gulo – The American Society of Mammalogists |publisher=smith.edu |access-date=23 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617132035/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-499-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2012}} Armed with powerful jaws, sharp claws, and a thick hide,{{cite web |url=http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/wolverine.htm |title=World Biomes: Wolverine |publisher=Blueplanetbiomes.org |access-date=4 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923075158/http://blueplanetbiomes.org/wolverine.htm |archive-date=23 September 2010}} wolverines, like most mustelids, are remarkably strong for their size. They may defend against larger or more numerous predators such as wolves or bears.{{cite web|title=Wolverine – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks|url=http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/wolverine.htm|publisher=Montana Outdoors|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928223026/http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/wolverine.htm|archive-date=28 September 2013}} By far, their most serious predator is the grey wolf, with an extensive record of wolverine fatalities attributed to wolves in both North America and Eurasia.{{cite journal | last1 = Burkholder | first1 = B. L. | year = 1962 | title = Observations concerning wolverine | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 43 | issue = 2| pages = 263–264 | doi=10.2307/1377101| jstor = 1377101 }}Boles, B. K. (1977). Predation by wolves on wolverines. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 91(1), 68–69.{{cite journal | last1 = Palomares | first1 = F. | author-link2 = Tim Caro | last2 = Caro | first2 = T. M. | year = 1999 | title = Interspecific killing among mammalian carnivores | url = https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/51387/1/Palomares%20%26%20Caro_1999_Am%20Nat.pdf| journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 153 | issue = 5| pages = 492–508 | doi=10.1086/303189| hdl = 10261/51387 | pmid=29578790| bibcode = 1999ANat..153..492P | s2cid = 4343007 | hdl-access = free }}White, K. S., Golden, H. N., Hundertmark, K. J., & Lee, G. R. (2002). Predation by Wolves, Canis lupus, on Wolverines, Gulo gulo, and an American Marten, Martes americana, in Alaska. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 116(1), 132–134. In North America, another predator (less frequent) is the cougar.{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dqg2AQAAMAAJ&q=mountain+lion+kill+wolverine&pg=SL14-PA36 |title = White River National Forest (N.F.), Land and Resource Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement|page=36|year = 2002}} At least one account reported a wolverine's apparent attempt to steal a kill from a black bear, although the bear won what was ultimately a fatal contest for the wolverine.{{cite press release | title = When Predators Attack (Each Other): Researchers Document First-known Killing of a Wolverine by a Black Bear in Yellowstone | publisher = Science Daily | date = 6 May 2003 | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030506073236.htm | access-date = 16 January 2007 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220034045/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030506073236.htm | archive-date = 20 February 2007}} There are a few accounts of brown bears killing and consuming wolverines as well and, although also reported at times to be chased off prey, in some areas such as Denali National Park, wolverines seemed to try to actively avoid encounters with grizzly bears as they have been reported in areas where wolves start hunting them.{{cite journal|doi=10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[0493:SOSRAC]2.0.CO;2|title=Synthesis of Survival Rates and Causes of Mortality in North American Wolverines|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=68|issue=3|pages=493–502|jstor=3803381|year=2004|last1=Krebs|first1=John|last2=Lofroth|first2=Eric|last3=Copeland|first3=Jeffrey|last4=Banci|first4=Vivian|last5=Cooley|first5=Dorothy|last6=Golden|first6=Howard|last7=Magoun|first7=Audrey|last8=Mulders|first8=Robert|last9=Shults|first9=Brad|s2cid=85682054 }}Murie, A. (2012). The grizzlies of Mount McKinley. University of Washington Press.

Wolverines have been observed to use urine as a scent-marking behavior. Headspace analysis of the volatiles emanating from urine samples identified 19 potential semiochemicals. The major classes of identified chemicals are the ketones: 2-heptanone, 4-heptanone and 4-nonanone and the monoterpenes: alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, linalool and geraniol. In other mammals, the excretion of these terpenes is unusual. The conifer needles that are found in wolverine scat are likely the source of these monoterpenes.{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | last2 = Copeland | first2 = Jeffrey P. | last3 = Yates | first3 = Richard E. | last4 = Horsey | first4 = Iman K. | last5 = McGreevy | first5 = Lynne R. | year = 2009 | title = Potential semiochemicals in urine from free ranging wolverines (Gulo gulo Pallas, 1780) | journal = Biochemical Systematics and Ecology | volume = 37 | issue = 5 | pages = 574–578 | doi=10.1016/j.bse.2009.09.007| bibcode = 2009BioSE..37..574W }}

The world's total wolverine population is not known. The animal exhibits a low population density and requires a very large home range.{{Cite web|last=Hurowitz|first=Glenn|date=5 March 2008|title=First wolverine in 30 years spotted in California|url=https://grist.org/article/wolverine-wonder/|access-date=2023-02-07|website=Grist

| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120811064710/http://grist.org/article/wolverine-wonder/

| archive-date= 11 August 2012

}}{{pb}}{{cite web | url = http://www.physorg.com/news124013684.html | title = Camera Spots Wolverine in Sierra Nevada | date = 6 March 2008 | work = physorg.com | author = US Forest Service | access-date = 21 February 2010 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081012203958/http://www.physorg.com/news124013684.html | archive-date = 12 October 2008}} The wolverine is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern because of its "wide distribution, remaining large populations, and the unlikelihood that it is in decline at a rate fast enough to trigger even Near Threatened".

The range of a male wolverine can be more than {{convert|620|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, encompassing the ranges of several females which have smaller home ranges of roughly 130–260 km² (50–100 mi²). Adult wolverines try for the most part to keep nonoverlapping ranges with adults of the same sex. Radio tracking suggests an animal can range hundreds of miles in a few months.

Female wolverines burrow into snow in February to create a den, which is used until weaning in mid-May. Areas inhabited nonseasonally by wolverines are thus restricted to zones with late-spring snowmelts. This fact has led to concern that global warming will shrink the ranges of wolverine populations.{{Cite journal | last = Raloff | first = Janet | title = Wolverine: Climate warming threatens comeback | journal = Science News | volume = 178 | publisher = Society for Science & the Public | date = 21 October 2010 | url = http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64508/description/Wolverine_Climate_warming_threatens_comeback | access-date = 31 October 2010 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130513173514/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64508/description/Wolverine_Climate_warming_threatens_comeback | archive-date = 13 May 2013}}

This requirement for large territories brings wolverines into conflict with human development, and hunting and trapping further reduce their numbers, causing them to disappear from large parts of their former range; attempts to have them declared an endangered species have met with little success. In February 2013, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed giving Endangered Species Act protections to the wolverine due to its winter habitat in the northern Rockies diminishing. This was as a result of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife.{{Cite news|last=Barringer|first=Felicity|date=2013-02-02|title=U.S. Proposes to Protect Wolverines|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/science/earth/us-proposes-protecting-the-wolverine.html|access-date=2023-02-07|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title=Judge: Climate change imperils wolverines|url=https://www.union-bulletin.com/news/northwest/judge-climate-change-imperils-wolverines/article_0b37e62a-fb83-11e5-b574-5b6a2d8ef9bb.html|access-date=2023-02-07|website=Union-Bulletin.com|date=5 April 2016 |language=en}} In November 2023, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it was adding the wolverine in the United States Lower 48 states to the threatened list.{{cite news |last=Grandoni |first=Dino |date=2023-11-29 |title=It's furry, it's fierce — and in much of the U.S., it's now protected |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/29/wolverine-climate-endangered/ |access-date=2023-12-10}}

The Wildlife Conservation Society reported in June 2009 that a wolverine researchers had been tracking for almost three months had crossed into northern Colorado. Society officials had tagged the young male wolverine in Wyoming near Grand Teton National Park, and it had traveled southward for about {{convert|500|mi}}. It was the first wolverine seen in Colorado since 1919, and its appearance was also confirmed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press |title=Wolverine confirmed in Colo., the first since 1919 |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=19 June 2009 |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Wolverine_In_Colorado.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622030129/http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Wolverine_In_Colorado.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm |archive-date=22 June 2009 }} In May 2016 the same wolverine was killed by a cattle ranch-hand in North Dakota, ending a greater-than-{{convert|800|mi|km|adj=on}} trip by this lone male wolverine, dubbed M-56. This was the first verified sighting of a Wolverine in North Dakota in 150 years.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/north-dakota-wolverine-shot-rancher-150-years?CMP=fb_us|title='Killed this here critter': outrage after US rancher shoots rare wolverine|date=13 May 2016|author=Levin, Sam|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610133854/http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/north-dakota-wolverine-shot-rancher-150-years?CMP=fb_us|archive-date=10 June 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}} In February 2014, a wolverine was seen in Utah, the first confirmed sighting in that state in 30 years.{{cite web|title=Wolverine caught on camera in Utah for 1st time|url=http://www.ksl.com/?sid=30554173&nid=148&fm=home_page&s_cid=toppick5|author=Crofts, Natalie|date=2 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191007/http://www.ksl.com/?sid=30554173&nid=148&fm=home_page&s_cid=toppick5|archive-date=14 July 2014}}

File:Wolverine, Kristiansand Zoo.jpg

Around a hundred wolverines are held in zoos across North America and Europe, and they have been bred in captivity, but only with difficulty and high infant mortality.

{{cite web

|url=http://app.isis.org/abstracts/Abs75307.asp

|title=Gulo gulo – Wolverine

|access-date=9 May 2010

|date=May 2010

|publisher=International Species Identification System}}

File:Bone pendant decorated with an engraved drawing of a wolverineDSCF6967.jpg, when wolverines were still found in southern France]]

File:Kittilä.vaakuna.svg]]

Many North American cities, sports teams, and organizations use the wolverine as a mascot. For example, the US state of Michigan is, by tradition, known as "the Wolverine State", and the University of Michigan takes the animal as its mascot. There have also been professional baseball and football clubs called the "Wolverines". The association is well and long established: for example, many Detroiters volunteered to fight during the American Civil War and George Armstrong Custer, who led the Michigan Brigade, called them the "Wolverines". The origins of this association are obscure; it may derive from a busy trade in wolverine furs in Sault Ste. Marie in the 18th century or may recall a disparagement intended to compare early settlers in Michigan with the vicious mammal. Wolverines are, however, extremely rare in Michigan. A sighting in February 2004 near Ubly was the first confirmed sighting in Michigan in 200 years.{{cite news| title = First Michigan wolverine spotted in 200 years| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4374309| author = Runk, David| date = 25 February 2004| agency = Associated Press| access-date = 23 December 2008}} The animal was found dead in 2010.{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Dawson |date=15 March 2010 |title=Only known wolverine in the Michigan wild dies |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20100315/NEWS06/100315027/1318/Only-wolverine-in-Mich.-wild-dies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706133328/http://www.freep.com/article/20100315/NEWS06/100315027/1318/Only-wolverine-in-Mich.-wild-dies |archive-date=6 July 2015}}

The Marvel Comics superhero James "Logan" Howlett was given the nickname "Wolverine" while cage fighting because of his skill, short stature, keen animal senses, ferocity, and most notably, claws that retract from both sets of knuckles.{{Cite web |url=https://www.marvel.com/comics/guides/2233/the_history_of_wolverine |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.marvel.com|title=The History of Wolverine}}{{cite web|url=https://www.marvel.com/characters/wolverine-logan/in-comics|title=Wolverine: In Comics, Full Report|website=MARVEL|access-date=23 September 2024}}

The wolverine is prevalent in stories and oral history from various Algonquian tribes and figures prominently in the mythology of the Innu people of eastern Quebec and Labrador.Swann, Brian, editor. (2005). Algonquian Spirit: Contemporary Translations of the Algonquian Literatures of North America. Bison Books. {{ISBN|978-0803293380}} The wolverine is known as Kuekuatsheu, a conniving trickster who created the world. The story of the formation of the Innu world begins long ago when Kuekuatsheu built a big boat similar to Noah's Ark and put all the various animal species in it. There was a great deal of rain, and the land was flooded. Kuekuatsheu told a mink to dive into the water to retrieve some mud and rocks which he mixed together to create an island, which is the world that is presently inhabited along with all the animals.{{cite journal | last = Armitage| first = Peter | title = Religious ideology among the Innu of eastern Quebec and Labrador | journal = Religiologiques | volume = 6 | year = 1992 | url = http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/religio/no6/armit.pdf | access-date = 29 June 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070101115643/http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/religio/no6/armit.pdf |archive-date = 1 January 2007}} Many tales of Kuekuatsheu are often humorous and irreverent and include crude references to bodily functions.Millman, Lawrence. (1993). Wolverine Creates the World: Labrador Indian Tales. Capra Press. {{ISBN|978-0884963639}} Some Northeastern tribes, such as the Miꞌkmaq and Passamaquoddy, refer to the wolverine as Lox, who usually appears in tales as a trickster and thief (although generally more dangerous than its Innu counterpart) and is often depicted as a companion to the wolf.Lynch, Patricia Ann and Jeremy Roberts. (2010). Native American Mythology A to Z. Chelsea House Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1604138948}} Similarly, the Dené, a group of the Athabaskan-speaking natives of northwestern Canada, have many stories of the wolverine as a trickster and cultural transformer much like the coyote in the Navajo tradition or raven in Northwest Coast traditions.Moore, Patrick and Angela Wheelock. (1990). Wolverine Myths and Visions: Dene Traditions from Northern Alberta. University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|978-0803281615}}

{{reflist}}

{{Sister project links|auto=yes|commonscat=yes}}

• [http://www.lcie.org/Large-carnivores/Wolverine Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe: Wolverine]: scientific articles about wolverines

• [http://www.rmrs.nau.edu/wildlife/forest_carnivores/wolverine/ Forest Service Wolverine research]
• Patsy, V. and M. Sygo (2009). [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Gulo_gulo.html Gulo gulo] Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Accessed 8 September 2012.

{{Carnivora|M.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q14334}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Guloninae

Category:Arctic land animals

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Carnivorans of Europe

Category:Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)

Category:Fauna of the Holarctic realm

Category:Mammals described in 1758

Category:Mammals of Asia

Category:Mammals of Canada

Category:Mammals of Europe

Category:Mammals of the Arctic

Category:Mammals of the United States

Category:Scavengers

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Habitats Directive species