Wolverines are found in North America and northern Eurasia, in the boreal zone of the northern hemisphere. They require large expanses of relatively undisturbed, boreal habitat. Wolverines are found in Scandinavia and Russia to 50 degrees North latitude. In North America they are found in Alaska and northern Canada, but can also be found in mountainous regions along the Pacific Coast as far south as the Sierras of California. Historically, wolverines were found in more southerly areas of Europe and North America, but these populations were extirpated mainly due to hunting, clearing of forests, and other human activities. Their distribution once extended as far south as Colorado, Indiana, and Pennsylvania in North America.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native )

Other Geographic Terms: holarctic

Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) Holarctic; northern Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America (Pasitschniak-Arts and Lariviere 1995, Aubry et al. 2007). The species occupies a wide elevational range; for example, in California, wolverines have been recorded at elevations of 400 to 4,300 meters (average 2425 m) (California DF&G 1990, Wilson 1982).

Historical range in North America: arctic islands to the mountains of California, Colorado, and Utah (Predator Conservation Alliance 2001), and parts of the northcentral and northeastern U.S. (where records are sketchy and scarce). Presently extirpated from most of the southern part of the range, including all of the northcentral and northeastern U.S. and most of southeastern and south-central Canada.

In Canada, the wolverine retains its original distribution in the arctic region and in the western mountain and boreal regions but has disappeared from the prairies and from areas south of the boreal forest in eastern Canada; within the boreal region a large gap distributional has developed southeast of Hudson Bay (Dauphine, 1989 COSEWIC report). There have been no verified reports of wolverines in Quebec since 1978, or in Labrador since 1950, but there are unconfirmed reports almost every year (Environment Canada, Species at Risk website).

Recent surveys in the contiguous United States indicate that wolverines appear to occupy (and are essentially limited to) the montane regions of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Washington (Copeland 1996; Washington Department of Wildlife 1998; Inman et al. 2002; Giddings, pers. comm., 2003 cited by USFWS 2003; Squires, pers. comm., 2003, cited by USFWS 2003). Until recently, there had been no confirmed records of wolverine in California since 1922 (Grinnell et al. 1937); attempts to locate wolverines by means of photographic bait stations during the winters of 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 yielded no records (Barrett et al. 1994). In 2008-2010, a single male wolverine was photographed by camera traps in the central Sierra Nevada of California. However, genetic data indicate that this male is related to wolverines in the northern Rocky Mountains and not a remnant of the native California population. See Predator Conservation Alliance (2001) and Wilson (1982) for a state-by-state review of occurrence in the contiguous United States.

Data on the distribution in Eurasia are sketchy. The range in Scandinavia appears to be concentrated in the mountainous central and northern portions of Norway and Sweden, as well as in Finland (Kvam et al. 1988; Nyholm 1993 and Andersson 1995, cited by Blomqvist 1995). Wolverines also occupy the taiga and northern coniferous forest of the former Soviet Union (M. S. Blinnikov, pers. comm.). [from Petersen 1997]

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Wolverines are one of the largest members of the family Mustelidae and are unmistakable in appearance. They are terrestrial mammals with body lengths of 65 to 105 cm, tail lengths of 13 to 26 cm, and shoulder heights of 36 to 45 cm. Wolverines weigh from 9 to 30 kg, females are generally smaller than males by about 10% in linear measurements and 30% in weight. They have short, powerful limbs and 5 toes on each paw. They use a semi-plantigrade form of locomotion, with their weight primarily on their metatarsals. This distributes weight better and can be useful when traveling and hunting in snow. On hard ground, ungulates can outrun wolverines. In snow, wolverines are less likely to sink in and can often catch much larger animals that become immobilized in deep snow. Wolverine fur is usually brown or brownish-black, with a yellow or gold stripe extending from the crown of the head laterally across each shoulder and to the rump, where the stripes join at the tail. Wolverines have a stocky appearance, with a robust body, short, powerful limbs, a large head, and small, rounded ears. They have sharp claws that are semi-retractable and a very powerful bite, with which they crush bone. They are rarely seen by humans because of their low population densities and the remote terrain in which they live.

There are two subspecies of wolverines: North American wolverines (G. gulo luscus) and European wolverines (G. gulo gulo). Differences seem to be mainly genetic and probably as a result of the isolation of these two continental populations. Another possible subspecies on Vancouver Island, Canada: G. gulo vancouverensis. This population has skull morphology differences with those found on the mainland, but their status has yet to be decided.

Range mass: 9 to 30 kg.

Range length: 65 to 105 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger

Average basal metabolic rate: 31.765 W.

Length: 100 cm

Weight: 15000 grams

Differs from the fisher in having yellowish stripes on the sides. Differs from the badger in having darker overall coloration (badger is yellowish gray), yellowish lateral stripes, and longer limbs; lacks the white stripe that in the badger extends from the snout over the top of the head to at least the neck.

• Terrestrial

Wolverines are found in alpine forests, tundra, open grasslands, and boreal shrub transition zones at or above timberline. Generally they live in areas with low human development and need large, undisturbed ranges in order to survive. During the winter, females construct nests to store food and hide young. They construct rough beds of grass or leaves in caves or rock crevices, in burrows made by other animals, or under a fallen tree. They occasionally construct their nests under the snow. Wolverines are found exclusively in areas with cold climates, which may be related to their reliance on scavenging and caching large animal prey. Cold weather helps preserve the meat for later use.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; polar ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; taiga ; forest ; mountains

Comments: Alpine and arctic tundra, boreal and mountain forests (primarily coniferous). Limited to mountains in the south, especially large wilderness areas. Usually in areas with snow on the ground in winter. Riparian areas may be important winter habitat. May disperse through atypical habitat. When inactive, occupies den in cave, rock crevice, under fallen tree, in thicket, or similar site. Terrestrial and may climb trees.

Young are born in a den among rocks or tree roots, in hollow log, under fallen tree, or in dense vegetation, including sites under snow.

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Tends to occupy higher elevations in summer, lower elevations in winter (Hornocker and Hash 1981, Whitman et al. 1986).

Male home ranges large: up to 1,000 square kilometers (RIC 1999); averaging 422 square kilometers in Montana (Hornocker and Hash 1981) and 535 square kilometers in Alaska (Whitman et al. 1986). Home ranges of females with young much smaller, ranging from 73 to 416 square kilometers (Hornocker and Hash 1981, Gardner 1985, Magoun 1985, Whitman et al. 1986, Banci 1987, Copeland 1996).

The wolverine diet can include anything from small eggs to large ungulates. They are capable of bringing down prey that is five times bigger than themselves, but generally only under conditions that leave large ungulate prey stranded in deep snow. They have large claws with pads on the feet that allow them to chase down prey in deep snow. Large ungulate prey species include reindeer, roe deer, wild sheep, elk or red deer, maral and moose. Wolverines can be very swift when on the attack, reaching speeds of over 48 km an hour. Large prey are killed by biting the back or front of the neck, severing neck tendons or crushing the trachea. Wolverines are opportunistic and their diet vary with season and location. They are also specialized for scavenging and will readily take over carcasses that have been killed by other large predators. Wolverines are extremely strong and aggressive for their size, they have been reported to drive bears, cougars, and even packs of wolves from their kills in order to take the carcass. They have also been reported scavenging whale, walrus, and seal carcasses. Female wolverines may hunt more small to medium-sized animals such as rabbits and hares, ground squirrels, marmots, and lemmings, when they are rearing young. The amount of food available to females may be key in determining population size; more food leads to greater reproductive success. The scientific name Gulo gulo comes from the latin word for glutton. Like other mustelids, they can be somewhat driven to kill when given the opportunity, resulting in them killing more prey than they can eat or cache. Wolverines have been known to kill large numbers of captive reindeer in deep snow, simply because the reindeer cannot escape.

Animal Foods: birds; mammals; eggs; carrion

Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food

Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates, Scavenger ); omnivore

Comments: Opportunistic. Feeds on a wide variety of roots, berries, small mammmals, birds' eggs and young, fledglings, and fish (Hatler 1989). May attack moose, caribou, and deer hampered by deep snow. Small and medium size rodents and carrion (especially ungulate carcasses) often make up a large percentage of the diet. Prey are captured by pursuit, ambush, digging out dens (Biosystems Analysis 1989), or climbing into trees. May cache prey in fork of tree branches or under snow.

Wolverines are scavengers, using the kills of larger predators, such as bear and wolves. Wolverines have few (if any) natural predators, and prey on large game and smaller animals. Wolverines are reliant on other large predators for food when snow conditions don't make it possible for them to hunt large prey themselves. The presence of wolverine urine discourages presence and feeding of black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus). Wolverines are parasitized by many kinds of endo and ectoparasites, including flukes (Opisthorchis felineus), tapeworms (Bothriocephalus, Taenia twitchelli, Mesocestoides kirbyi), roundworms (Dioctophyme renale, Soboliphyme baturini), trematodes (Alaria), nematodes (Trichinella spiralis, Molineus patens, Ascaris devosi, Physaloptera torquata, Physaloptera sibrica), ticks (Dermacentor variabilis), fleas (Oropsylla alaskensis, and ear canker mites (Otodectes cynotis).

Commensal/Parasitic Species:

• flukes (Opisthorchis felineus)
• tapeworms (Bothriocephalus)
• tapeworms (Taenia twitchelli)
• tapeworms (Mesocestoides kirbyi)
• roundworms (Dioctophyme renale)
• roundworms (Soboliphyme baturini)
• trematodes (Alaria)
• nematodes (Trichinella spiralis)
• nematodes (Molineus patens)
• nematodes (Ascaris devosi)
• nematodes (Physaloptera torquata)
• nematodes (Physaloptera sibrica)
• ticks (Dermacentor variabilis)
• fleas (Oropsylla alaskensis)
• ear canker mites (Otodectes cynotis)

Wolverines have few, if any, natural predators. They are fierce and aggressive, able to defend themselves against animals several times their size, such as wolves and mountain lions. However, wolves, mountain lions, black bears, brown bears, and golden eagles can be threats to young or inexperienced wolverines. Wolves are the dominant predator of wolverines, but generally only under circumstances where the wolverine cannot escape by climbing a tree. Wolverines use scents from their anal gland and urine to scent-mark food caches, discouraging other predators.

Known Predators:

• wolves (Canis lupus)
• mountain lions (Puma concolor)
• black bears (Ursus americanus)
• brown bears (Ursus arctos)
• golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: Unknown

Comments: Number of occurrences is unknown but there are many in North America and Eurasia. However, occurrences must be defined on a very large scale, so the number of distinct occurrences in a large region will be one or a few at most.

10,000 to >1,000,000 individuals

Comments: Total population size is unknown but probably is at least in the hundreds of thousands. Substantial populations occur in northern Canada and Alaska. Estimates reported in 2003 put the total population in western Canada at 15,000-19,000 individuals (Environment Canada, Species at Risk website).

Outside of Alaska, Montana and Idaho likely have the largest populations in the United States (perhaps a few hundred individuals in each state). Acknowledging a lack of substantial data, Predator Conservation alliance (2001) stated that extrapolation of the best available information indicates an estimated population of fewer than 750 wolverines in the contiguous United States, including an estimated 400-600 in the U.S. northern Rocky Mountains, and perhaps 100 across the Northwest and Sierra Nevada.

In North America, population density estimates range from one wolverine per 65 sq km in Montana (Hornocker and Hash 1981) to less than one per 200 sq km in northern British Columbia (Quick 1953), Alaska (Becker and Gardner 1992), and the Northwest Territories (Lee and Niptanatiak 1993). [from Petersen 1997]

In Eurasia, data on current populations are scarce. In Norway, the population was estimated to be 120 to 180 individuals (Kvam et al. 1988), in Sweden less than 100 individuals (Andersson 1995, cited by Blomqvist 1995), and in Finland approximately 90 individuals (Nyholm 1993, cited by Blomqvist 1995). In the conservation parks of Russia, the average number of encounters with wolverine tracks along 10 km transects ranged from 0.03 to 1.8 (Russian Research Center 1992). [from Petersen 1997]

Solitary and wide ranging. Occurs at relatively low population densities (e.g., 1 per 65 sq km in one area in Montana).

Males in some areas apparently are territorial, but in Montana there was extensive overlap of the ranges of both the same and opposite sexes. Apparently territory/range size depends on availability of denning sites and food supply (see Wilson 1982). Some individuals travel regularly over the same route (Wilson 1982).

There are no important predators other than humans. See Whitman et al. (1986).

Like most mustelids, wolverines have anal scent glands which are used to mark territories and food caches. Due to their scavenging lifestyle, they have an advanced sense of smell. Wolverines also have good hearing, but likely have poor vision. Wolverines are rarely vocal, except for occasional grunts and growls when irritated.

Communication Channels: acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: scent marks

Perception Channels: visual ; acoustic

Comments: Active throughout the year. Active both day and night but primarily nocturnal.

In the wild, wolverines generally live for 5 to 7 years but some can live up to 13 years. Females in captivity have bred up to 10 years old and live up to 17 years. The main causes of death are starvation, being killed by competitors (such as wolves), and trapping.

Range lifespan

Status: wild: 13 (high) years.

Range lifespan

Status: captivity: 17 (high) years.

Typical lifespan

Status: wild: 5 to 7 years.

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 18.0 years.

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 17.3 years.

Wolverines are generally solitary animals. Males and females come together only briefly for mating, from May to August. Males have large home ranges, encompassing the home ranges of several females. Males may mate with each female in their home range and sometimes those in overlapping ranges. Males and females remain together for several days. Females may also mate with members of different home ranges, but litters are usually fathered by one male. Males fiercely defend their territory by marking it with scent from their anal gland.

Mating System: polygynous

Female wolverines mate every other year. Mating occurs from May to August, with most females being in heat from June to August. Males remain near females during the breeding season, but females initiate copulation. Like many other mustelids, ovulation is believed to be induced by copulation and the embryo is not implanted immediately, but rather waits in diapause for about 6 months. After implantation, gestation takes only another 30 to 50 days. With delayed implantation, pregnancy can last from 120 to 272 days depending on when the embryo is fertilized and when it implants. Females build snow-dens in which they give birth and nurse. The litter is usually born between January and April and averages 3 kits, weighing 85 g each. Weaning is complete at 3 months and the young begin foraging on their own at 5 to 7 months, when they become independent. Adult size is attained at around 1 year and sexual maturity at 2 to 3 years old. Wolverines require snow cover that persists through spring so that food can be cached until the kits are large enough to being foraging on their own.

Breeding interval: Females give birth in alternate years.

Breeding season: Breeding occurs from May to August.

Range number of offspring: 1 to 5.

Range gestation period: 120 to 272 days.

Average birth mass: 84 g.

Average weaning age: 3 months.

Average time to independence: 1 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 710 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 776 days.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); viviparous ; delayed implantation

Average birth mass: 95 g.

Average number of offspring: 3.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

Sex: male: 776 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

Sex: female: 710 days.

Females give birth to a litter of around 3 kits in a snow den. After females give birth they hide with their young. The mother defends her territory and intruders are not tolerated. This territorial behavior continues until the young are ready to hunt on their own. Young remain with their mother until the fall of the year they were born, when they disperse. Females mate again in the following year, giving birth to young in the second year after the previous litter. Females may help to train their young in hunting techniques before they disperse.

Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)

Breeds April-October (but variable), usually in summer. Implantation is delayed generally until winter. Gestation lasts 7-9 months; active gestation 30-40 days. One to six (usually 2-4) young are born January-April, mainly February or March (reportedly April-June in the Pacific states, Ingles 1965). Young are weaned beginning at about 7-8 weeks, separate from the mother in the fall. Sexually mature generally in the second or third year. Males sexually mature sometimes as yearlings (Alaska and Yukon); males over three years old were sexually mature in British Columbia. Some females mature at 12-15 months and produce their first litter when two years old. (Wilson 1982). In some areas, females may produce litters only every 2-3 years. In British Columbia, most mature females were reproductively active. Lives to an age of up to about 10 years, or sometimes 15-18 years or so.

Wolverines generally occur at relatively low population densities and have vanished from most of their former range in the United States. In Scandinavia, estimates vary from one individual per 200 to 500 sq km. Encroaching human populations alter the abundance and habits of large ungulates, eliminate large predator populations, or kill wolverines directly. Numbers have declined due to fur trapping and hunting by those believing the wolverine to be a nuisance. In Russia, wolverines are a game species and extensive overhunting has led to population decline. In the United States, wolverines can only be harvested in Montana and Alaska. Wolverines have been nearly eliminated in the United States and have disappeared over most of southeastern and south-central Canada. In Europe, they can only be found now in parts of Scandinavia and northern Russia. Wolverines are listen by the IUCN as Near Threatened. They were previously listed as vulnerable, but have been upgraded to Near Threatened.  Conservation efforts include education, protecting habitat, and eliminating unregulated hunting. In Sweden farmers and herders are compensated for identifying dens and reporting them. Other Scandinavian countries have adopted measures to limit the amount of wolverines in reindeer herding areas through selected hunting.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N3 - Vulnerable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N4 - Apparently Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Reasons: Large range in northern Canada and Alaska, where populations probably are in good condition; occurs also in northern Eurasia; status is not well known in many portions of the range; extirpated from most of range in contiguous United States, with promising signs of semi-recovery in selected western states.

Intrinsic Vulnerability: Highly vulnerable

Comments: Species has a low reproductive output because of poor breeding success, high juvenile mortality, and slow sexual maturity (Petersen 1997).

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable to decline of 30%

Comments: Environment Canada - Species at Risk website (http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca ) reported the following information for the western population:

In the Yukon, populations are healthy and stable in all regions. In the Northwest Territories, densities vary with location; they are highest in the southwest and lowest on the Arctic Islands and on the mainland east of the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary. In Nunavut, densities are moderate in the west and low on the Arctic Islands and in the east. Populations are believed to be stable over much of British Columbia, but are declining in the southern mountains. A distinct subspecies may no longer be extant on Vancouver Island, where Wolverines have not been seen since 1992; their decline may be related to that of the endangered Vancouver Island marmot, a potential summer food. In Alberta, wolverines are most abundant in the west, but appear to be declining throughout the province. In Saskatchewan, they are common in the north, but are rare and possibly declining in the southern boreal forest. In Manitoba, the highest densities are in the northeast and northwest, while numbers in the north central part of the province are unknown. Wolverines are found in small numbers in northwestern Ontario; they may have increased recently in some areas, but are known to have disappeared from others. Overall numbers for Ontario indicate a decline. Although records exist for their occurrence in the Prairie and Great Lakes Plains ecological areas, wolverine populations may never have been viable in these regions.

See also Dauphine (1989 COSEWIC report) for information on status in Canada.

In Alberta, trapping data suggest that the highest populations are found in the western parts of the province, and that populations have declined in most regions of Alberta in the past two decades (Petersen 1997).

Degree of Threat: C : Not very threatened throughout its range, communities often provide natural resources that when exploited alter the composition and structure over the short-term, or communities are self-protecting because they are unsuitable for other uses

Comments: Decline may have been due primarily to fur trapping. Habitat has been degraded through timber harvesting, ski area construction, road construction, and general human disturbance (Biosystems Analysis 1989). There are conflicts with backcountry trappers.

Excessive hunter harvesting and loss of ungulate wintering areas (Banci 1994), as well as displacement of ungulate populations due to excessive timber harvest and urbanization, may adversely impact wolverines (www.wolverinefoundation.org).

In western Canada, with the extensive human settlement that began in the mid-19th century, the wolverine has undergone range contractions and population reductions. Wolf control programs that were in effect from the 1950s and into the 1990s contributed to this species' decline. The habitat, particularly in the southern part of the range, is subject to loss, degradation, and fragmentation from oil, gas, and mineral exploration and extraction, forestry, roads, agriculture, and urban development. Although Wolverines are known to use snowmobile trails and scavenge from traps, backcountry recreation can lead to habitat alienation for these secretive animals. Increased access of motorized vehicles into remote areas may also increase harvest pressure on the wolverine and on its ungulate prey, particularly the threatened Southern Mountain population of Woodland Caribou. In the arctic tundra, developments frequently attract wolverines, which are then at risk of being killed as nuisance animals. As an economically valuable furbearer, the wolverine is subject to trapping and has been over-harvested in some areas. Declines in the population in eastern Canada are related to a combination of factors: hunting and trapping in the late 19th century, dwindling caribou herds in the early 20th century, human encroachment on habitat, reduction in the number of wolves, and the indiscriminate use of poison baits. [From Environment Canada Species at Risk website. See Dauphine (1989 COSEWIC report) for further information on threats in Canada.]

Among the limiting factors in Alberta are the loss of isolated habitat, a reduction in the availability of large ungulate carrion, and trapping pressure (Petersen 1997).

Preserve Selection and Design Considerations: Maintaining wilderness and roadless areas is critical. In timber harvest areas, roads should be minimized.

Although wolverines maintain large home ranges, they exhibit fidelity to discrete areas, and populations in scattered sites within areas such as the Northwest Territories (Canada) are genetically independent, suggesting the need to consider preservation of multiple populations if genetic diveristy is to be maintained (Wilson et al. 2000).

Management Requirements: Management programs must be regional, rather than local, for this wide-ranging, low-density species.

Rowland et al. (2003) evaluated performance of landscape models for wolverines within their historical range at 2 scales based on recent observations (n = 421) from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. At the subbasin scale, simple overlays of habitat and road-density classes were effective in predicting observations of wolverines. At the watershed scale, they used a Bayesian belief network model to provide spatially explicit estimates of relative habitat capability. The model had 3 inputs: amount of habitat, human population density, and road density. At both scales, the best models revealed strong correspondence between means of predicted counts of wolverines and means of observed counts. Their results can be used to guide regional conservation planning for wolverines.

See Predator Conservation Alliance (2001) for a summary of management needs.

Global Protection: Few to several (1-12) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

Comments: Protected legally in several western states. Occurs in several national parks.

Needs: Kyle and Strobeck (2002) confirmed that high levels of gene flow occur among all the northern wolverine populations sampled. They "also observed progressively increasing genetic structure at the periphery of their southern and eastern distributions, suggesting that these populations may have been partially fragmented from what was once a panmictic unit. Peripheral populations may be more susceptible to extirpation and, therefore, may be the most appropriate targets for concerted conservation efforts to prevent the elimination of wolverines from yet more of their historical range."

Protection of natal denning habitat from human disturbance may be critical. Montane coniferous forests, suitable for winter foraging and summer kit rearing, may only be useful if connected with subalpine cirque habitats required for natal denning, security areas, and summer foraging. In addition, these habitats must be available during the proper season. Subalpine cirque areas, important for natal denning, may be made unavailable by winter recreational activities. Conversely, high road densities, timber sales, or housing developments on the fringes of subalpine habitats may reduce potential for winter foraging and kit rearing, and increase the probability of human-caused wolverine mortality. [from www.wolverinefoundation.org].

See also Predator Conservation Alliance (2001) for a summary of protection needs.

Keep trappers out of known wolverine areas.

Wolverines live in remote areas where human populations are sparse. Many wolverines are shot due to their habit of preying upon animals that are trapped for fur. They have been extensively hunted in Scandinavia because of its alleged predation on domestic reindeer. It has been considered a nuisance throughout its range because it will eat animals already caught in fur traps and will break into cabins and food caches, eating and spraying the contents with its strong scent. Wolverines can even break into canned goods with their sharp canines. Wolverines are supposedly very difficult to trap; when a wolverine finds a trap, it may spring it by turning it upside down or by dropping a stick into it. Wolverines have also been known to carry traps away and bury them deep in the snow.

Negative Impacts: injures humans; crop pest

Wolverine are sometimes hunted for their fur because it is prized for its frost resistant properties. Native peoples used them to line parkas. However, their skins are no longer used widely in commerce. Wolverines are also important members of the ecosystems in which they live, they are important as top predators and scavengers.

Positive Impacts: body parts are source of valuable material

Comments: Fur is favorable for trimming parkas, but limited numbers make the wolverine relatively unimportant as a furbearer. In the 1970s, annual harvest was several hundred in Alaska and a few dozen in Montana (Wilson 1982). In the early 1980s, the harvest in Canada, Alaska, and Montana was 1377 (Nowak 1991).

Sometimes regarded as a nuisance; may rob traplines or destroy human food caches. Was intensively hunted in Scandinavia because of alleged predation on domestic reindeer (Nowak 1991).

Comments: Some authors (e.g., Hall 1981) have regarded the North American wolverine as a species (Gulo luscus) distinct from the Eurasian wolverine (Gulo gulo). Most recent accounts (e.g., Jones et al. 1992; Wozencraft, in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005; Pasitschniak-Arts and Lariviere 1995) treat luscus as a subspecies of Gulo gulo, following Degerbol (1935) and Kurten and Rausch (1959).