Wolverine
Looking like as if a weasel has grown into a small bear, the wolverine is not much larger than say a Cocker Spaniel or a Beagle – but that can be deceptive. Wolverines are highly territorial and have the muscular strength to defend it. In fact, although weighing just about 13 kg, it is said that the wolverine has the ability of defending its food from wolf packs, cougars, and grizzly bears. They are thought to be the strongest animal amongst mammals, relative to their size. Given below are some more fascinating facts about the wolverine.
Although the wolverine may look like a small sized bear, it actually is the largest species of the weasel family. Its fur is brownish-black in color with light brown strips along the sides. It is dense and long, and resists water, which is what helps the wolverine tolerate the cold and frost of the environment it inhabits.
Some of the other physical features of the wolverine include a stocky build, with powerful limbs, a large head, a short tail and small ears. Its feet are equipped with pads, which enable it to traverse through heavy snow, and it also has large claws.
Basically solitary, the wolverine requires a lot of space to roam, and have been known to journey 24 kilometers, or 15 miles, a day looking for food. As a matter of fact, some animals have been tracked over the snow for 60-80 kilometers.
They pursue caribou herds when they migrate, feeding off the carcasses that bears and wolves leave behind, using their strong jaws to crush the bones. Because of their requirement for large ranges of habitat, wolverines can be found in the remote regions of the tundra, taiga, and boreal forests in the northern parts of North America, Asia, and Europe. In fact, they have a penchant for areas that are uninhabited by humans.
Similar to other weasels, the wolverine by nature is curious, daring, and tough. It is an omnivorous animal, feeding on a wide variety of food. In the summer, it will eat berries, edible roots, and various plants, although that is only a small part of its diet. Being tenacious predators, they will travel great distances to get its main food, meat.
While smaller sized prey, like rodents and rabbits, is easy fare for the wolverine, if given the opportunity it will set upon animals that are much larger in size, like deer and caribou, if they are injured or weak. And as has been mentioned above, they are also opportunistic feeders that eat animals which have been killed by other predatory animals, like caribou, deer, and elk. In fact, eating carrion helps them to survive the winter, when food can be scarce. They even dig into the snow to find and eat hibernating animals.
The wolverine is basically a terrestrial animal, however they are very good at climbing trees and are also powerful swimmers. They have great stamina and use a fast lope to travel great distances without breaking for rest.
Although mainly nocturnal animals, if the wolverine finds itself in regions of extended darkness or daylight, it will change to a pattern of being awake for 4 hours and sleeping for 4 hours. Like the bear, the wolverine has poor eyesight, although its hearing and sense of smell are very good.
Male wolverines use their scent glands to mark out their territory, sometimes even marking their caches of food. They are thought to be polygamous and hence share their territory with a number of females. Although wolverines are solitary animals, members of the family do play with each other.
Female wolverines dig underground in order to give birth to their young, which usually are 2 to 3 at a time, either in early spring or late winter. Sometimes the young will live with their mother until they are two years of age, when they mature enough to reproduce themselves.
In the past, wolverines were hunted by trappers in North America for their beautiful coat, which was used as a lining for parkas. However, this is not as common these days, with the wolverine being given protective status in several regions.
Have included a few wolverine photos that I found online.
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