WOLVERINE

by Patt

APPEARANCE

The wolverine, scientifically named Gulo gulo, is an aggressive, carnivorous mammal that was listed endangered in 1997. It belongs to the weasel family, Musteldae, and is the largest weasel. The wolverine is small and short, yet it is aggressive and very muscular. The males are usually larger than the females, although the females represent the strong, muscular figure of the male. The wolverine has dark brown fur on its sides, which join at the tip of the tail. The wolverine's features consist of a black, pointed nose, a bushy tail, with individual tail hairs that measure approximately 20 centimeters, as well as strong jaws and sharp teeth. The special features of the wolverine are frost resistant fur, used mainly for collars on parkas, and sharp, semi - retractable claws with the ability to rip open logs or enemies with ease. The wolverine measures 30 - 40 centimeters tall at the shoulder. They grow to weigh 20 - 30 pounds at the most, with a paw size of about 5 inches.

WHY ENDANGERED?

The wolverine is now listed as endangered because of being hunted. The female wolverine only has 2 to 3 offspring per year, causing the population to decrease in size. It is now extirpated from New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, but is still living in other parts of Canada and also in northern Asia, the U.S.A., and some parts of Europe.

HABITAT

The wolverine is usually found in cold , northern forests, in caves, snow tunnels, and burrows. It has a home range of several hundred kilometers and shares its territory with one or two female wolverines. The wolverine is sparsely spread out over Canada. It has only been spotted five times in Quebec since 1977, all of them toward the northern area of Ungava Bay.

FOOD

The wolverine is carnivorous, and likes to feed on carrion, moose, elk, caribou, deer, mountain sheep, and when large mammals are unavailable, ptarmigan, mice, and other small animals become acceptable. The wolverine is an excellent hunter, with hardly any predators to stop it. Once it catches a large mammal, such as an elk, it might eat a leg and hide or bury the remainders, coming back each day or meal to feed on more until all the edible meat is gone.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

To help down list the wolverine, we can become educated, like writing reports and reading books on wolverines. The hunting of the wolverine however, has already been banned from Quebec and Newfoundland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burton, John A. Mammals. London: Dragon's World Ltd., 1991.

Savage, Candace. On the Brink - Endangered Species in Canada. Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books, 1989.

"Wolverine." Toolworks Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1987, CD-ROM.