The Wolverine
Latin Name: Gulo Gulo, Gulo luscus
Appearance and Physical Characteristics
Most people when they hear the name wolverine will think of the character from the X-Men series. Unfortunately most people don’t even know what a real live wolverine looks like. Looking at the name one would think that the wolverine is part of the wolf family but it is not. Looking at pictures one would likely be more inclined to think that it is part of the bear family. Nobody would expect that the wolverine is actually a part of the weasel family – the largest member of that family. The Latin genus is “gulo” and there is said to be two sub-species. However in recent years there has been some discussion that there may be four further sub-species one that is found solely in the northern parts of Vancouver Island on Canada’s west coast. As well, there appears to be one subspecies that is found solely on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.
Wolverines resemble a small bear. About the size of a medium to large sized dog they generally grow to a length of 25 -34 inches and with a tail that is about 10 inches long. They weigh between 22 and 55 lbs though records have shown weights up to 90 lbs though this is not common. Unlike a dog a wolverine is very bulky and powerfully built more like a bear. The male wolverine is generally up to 30% larger than the females.
With five toes on their large paws and short stout legs, the wolverine is designed well for dealing with deep snow and winter weather. Their large paws are tipped with fearsome claws that help when tearing apart prey, digging in the snow and frozen ground, for digging a den, climbing trees and of course killing their prey. Wolverines have poor eyesight but have excellent hearing and sense of smell. They have big, round heads and small round ears much like the ears we often have on our teddy bears – however a wolverine is not an animal that you would want to cuddle with.
Wolverines have a heavy fur coat which in the past has made tem very popular for trappers. Fortunately due to the growing decline in the wolverine population there are many regions that now have protection laws in regards to trapping wolverines. Their fur is thick and oily. It has excellent insulating properties and is hydrophobic – which simply means that it was water and frost resistant. These qualities made it the fur of choice in past years for lining parkas and even boots in more northern and arctic regions. The wolverine’s fur ranges in color from tans and browns to black and rarely grey. Some wolverines have a facial mask which is a silver color. It is not distinct in all wolverines but a pale tan or beige stripe runs along the sides of the animal from their shoulders to their tail. As well some wolverines will have a very distinctive patch of white hair on the chest and throat area.
The wolverine is also a mustelid which is an animal that are known for being “midsized carnivorous mammals.” This family has very potent scent glands and the wolverine like the skunk can actually “spray” a very nasty must when threatened or when marking its territory. It has been known to mark its food catches to scare off other creatures. Wolverine’s like other members of the mustelid family have a unique molar that is rotated 90 degrees and is directed upwards in the mouth. This special adaption gives the wolverine the ability to tear of the flesh of animals it has hunted or carrion that is frozen. This exceptional adaptation just adds to their already powerful jaw which can crush the bones of the animals that they hunt and eat so that they can get to the bone marrow. Other animals in the mustelid group include skunks, badgers, ferrets, fishers, martens, mink, weasels and otters.
Habitat and Range
Wolverines are very solitary creatures and need a lot of territory. This is evident in the fact that in a single day a wolverine might travel 15 or more miles in its search for food. Male wolverines will do this travelling in search of sustenance and a suitable mate almost every day of their life. The home range of the male wolverine can be more than 240 square miles. This range for the male will actually overlap with the range of a number of females which generally have ranges of about 50 to 100 square miles. It seems that male wolverines will not overlap another male’s territory and that females will not overlap another females range.
Wolverines tend to be found in the boreal forest, tiaga and tundra biomes of the northern regions of North America, Asia and Europe. The boreal forest is composed predominately of coniferous forests (meaning mostly pine and evergreen trees as opposed to deciduous trees such as maple, oak, elm etc.) The tiaga is basically a continuation of the boreal forests but moving more towards the tree line in the northern parts of the countries mentioned. This is a harsher climate area. The tundra of course is past the tree line and is home to plant who thrive in the very short growing season and considerably lower temperatures. Though there is a fairly large population of wolverines in Alaska and Canada as well as Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, Northern China, Magnolia, Western Russia and Siberia, the habitat of the wolverine has been fragmented by the encroachment of human developments which has reduced the wolverines range.
As well the general population of wolverines has declined since the 19th century because of the trapping for the fur trade of their pelts. This is especially true in the North West United States and in the Nordic countries of Europe. In 2008 and 2009 there were confirmed sightings of wolverines since the 1920s in the Sierra Nevada and near Lake Tahoe. While they are few in number, there are also wolverines in the Rocky Mountains and the northern Cascades. They have also been seen as far east as Michigan though this is not a common occurrence. There was a wolverine spotted in Michigan in the early/mid 2000’s but it was found dead in 2010. It was the first one that had been seen in Michigan in over 200 years.
Because of the trapping of the wolverine for its fur during the last century this creature is now in danger of becoming extinct. It is in most parts of the world a protected species which needs to be further researched and protected.
Diet and Hunting
Wolverines are omnivores, which mean that they eat both vegetation and meat. A wolverine’s diet will consist of some plants and berries especially during the summer season, however this is only a small portion of their dietary intake. A wolverine is more inclined to meat than plant life. A ferocious hunter a wolverine will very quickly over take small prey like rodents or rabbits but it is also an opportunistic hunter. It will take on an animal that is many times bigger than itself, such as a caribou if the prey appears to be injured or weakened for some reason. Wolverines are also known for digging into the burrows of hibernating animals and finding them at a disadvantage killing them for food.
Wolverines will also take any chance to steal food that has already been caught and killed by another animal. They will feed on carrion left by other animals especially those of larger animals like caribou, moose, deer and elk. This opportunistic behavior is often what sustains them through the leaner winter season.
A wolverine will also defend its kills or finds from other predators, even fighting off numerous other animals to protect its food. There has been a story recorded of a 27 lbs wolverine who tried to steal a kill from a 500 lb black bear. Unfortunately the wolverine lost this battle but there are also stories of a wolverine coming out the victor when battling other bears (including polar bears.) Wolverines are tenacious and vicious in a fight and it is no wonder that larger animals can be defeated or will give up in the face of a violent confrontation with a wolverine. They have also been known to fight off a cougar or even a pack of wolves to defend their food.
Studies have shown that the wolverines in North American regions are not as active hunters as in other parts of the world. This is believed to be that the density of competing predator populations
[1] is higher in North America than it is elsewhere. This means that the North American wolverine is more likely to find carrion or another animal’s kill to steal. For Wolverines in Europe and Asia it is actually more practical to do their own hunting that to wait for an opportunity to steal from another animal.
Mating and Life Cycle
The wolverine has some interesting reproductive quirks. The male will mate with the same 2 or 3 females for his entire life. He will visit her in her territory during mating seasons. As strange as it may sound some male wolverines never have a mate, while others can have 2 or 3. The males will scent mark their territories which will encompass the territories of their females.
Summer is the mating season for wolverines however the female wolverine’s body will not actually implant the embryo in the uterus until early in the winter. This means that the development of the fetus is delayed until that point. If for some reason food is not abundant the female may not produce young at all. The female will build a den usually by digging in the snow or under some other cover where she will give birth to and then care for her young. The gestation period is 30 to 50 days and usually results in 2 or 3 are born in the late winter or early spring due to the delay of implantation.
The kits grow and mature quickly. They achieve their adult size within the first year. They will occasionally live with their mother until they reach reproductive maturity which is at about two years of age. The father will visit their offspring until they are old enough to be weaned which is about 10 weeks. Interestingly enough the fathers will often visit again when the young are about 6 months old when some of them might travel out for a while with him. Though known to be extremely solitary creatures, the wolverine will also play with its own family members.
Wolverines have an average life span of 5 to 10 years. Though there have been cases studied where they have lived to 13 and 15 years of age. In the more isolated regions that have not been invaded by humans there is the possibility of significantly older animals. The fact of the matter is that wolverines have no natural predators with the exception of hunters. They do however come into conflict with other larger animals when they are trying to protect their kill, food or territory. The very young however have been known to be taken by large eagles and hawks. They are rarely taken by other large animals because they would first have to get through the mother wolverine and that would entail a fight that might not end up in their favor.
Behavior and Other Interesting Facts
Wolverine spends most of its time on the ground but it is a little known fact that they are also excellent tree climbers and also very strong swimmers. They spend much of their time traveling about their territory in search of food and they have a very distinctive “lope” which enables them to travel for long periods of time without having to stop for rest.
The wolverines are also very adaptable. They tend to be nocturnal creatures but they will adjust depending on their environment. If they find that they are in an area of extended darkness like the far north they will actually change their sleeping pattern and stay awake for 4 hours and then sleep for 3 hours. This helps it to adjust without compromising its own strength and stamina.
Most of the myths about the wolverine come from Native American stories. The wolverine was seen as a trickster similar to the personality of the raven, coyote or hyena. They are given the characteristics of being bad-mannered, being gluttons and also being sexually promiscuous. In these stories however the wolverine rarely gets the rewarded for his tricky behaviors and actions. One of the stories tells of the wolverine stealing from his wife’s brothers. Apparently he was stealing all of the game and so because they were afraid of starving to death they beat him up breaking his back and then pour hot fat on him in order to get the food back.
Another story that apparently comes from the Algonquin tribes indicates that two girls had climbed a tree and gotten stuck. They enticed the wolverine with “sexual favours” so that he would help them get down. In one version of the myth he brought them down and they in turn urinated on him and left. In the other version they refused to engage in the “sexual favors” and so he chased them back up the tree.
Personal Experience
I have had the exceptional privilege of coming across a wolverine when I lived in Nipigon (the very top of Lake Superior near Thunder Bay in northern Ontario.) This was the one and only time that I have come across one in the wild though I have seen tracks and indications of them in the wild since then. I also have seen them in various zoos. The wolverine was eating and turned to face me (I was only 5 at the time). He growled and came towards me. Fortunately I ran and though he followed for about 10 feet he very quickly turned back to his food. He was very ferocious and seemed to me at that young age, to be a very angry and dangerous creature.
Wolverine as Totem
Yearly Cycle of Power: Winter
Daily Time of Power: Dusk
There are different views about what the wolverine represents as an animal totem some of the most common themes are:
Understanding Aggression Persistence Surprise
Endurance Passion Gambling
Thriving in Opposition Secret Keeping Resourcefulness
Standing Your Ground Solitude Gluttony
Discretion
These days the name wolverine inevitably brings to mind the comic book hero or the X-Men hero of the same name. Both the character and animal are strong and powerful. We can use this energy to embrace our own power and be strong.
The wolverine is probably one of the most wild and ferocious of the mid-sized animals. There are many things that can be learned from the wolverine but perhaps the with the exception of understanding aggression, perseverance, persistence or tenacity would be the most common energy that the wolverine brings. The wolverine teaches to pursue what we want… to go after what we need and want with passion, creativity and determination. A wolverine doesn’t give up on what they are seeking until they have it or are dead. They are not uncertain or passive about anything in their lives and they teach us to work at a thing until we have achieved what we want.
The wolverine is also said to be the herald of awakening passion. The fact that the wolverine kits are born in the spring, as well as the fact that they are located in areas of the world that are more known for the winter seasons and cold weather than the summer seasons all lead towards spring and the awakening of new life and passion for that life. The thing about this passion is that one needs to be careful that passion for life doesn’t lead to gluttony for food or things. Used wisely, that passion for life can be directed to a desire for knowledge, wisdom and other positive things.
The predominate impression that people get from the wolverine is the sense of pure aggression. This is not the case in looking at this animal as a totem. The wolverine only uses its aggression when it is seeking or protecting its food or territory. If you watch a family of wolverines you will see that they can play and be affection with each other. Their aggressiveness is generally only seen in the face of survival.
“Wolverine is also considered as a messenger between the real world and the spirit world. As a burrowing trickster, the smart and wily wolverine moves between the underworld and upper world with ease. “[2]
These are only a very few of the lessons that can be learned and energies used with the wolverine totem. I am looking forward to a long and interesting exploration with this unique, ferocious and tenacious creature.
Resources
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals
Additional information was obtained from an employee at the Toronto Zoo in Toronto, Ontario Canada through a personal interview/conversation.
[1] A Competing predator population is considered to be other animals that feed on the same type of prey. In Canada for example the competing predator populations would include the mountain lion, bears, martins, wolves, bobcats, lynx etc. These other animals compete for the same type of food and thus depending on the number of them will make it more or less difficult for the wolverine to find food. Fortunately, what might seem to be a negative problem is not in this situation as the wolverine is a known scavenger and the leftovers from these other predators helps feed the wolverine.
