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For more information on wolverines
check out these websites:

• The Wolverine Foundation

• Wildlife Rehabilitation Association 

Facts about Wolverines

1. The Wolverine is very secretive preferring to live in the back country and is rarely seen. It inhabits boreal, montane, sub alpine and arctic tundra regions, generally preferring higher elevations. In some areas its range has been significantly reduced presumably because of human expansion.
    
2. Wolverines are members of the family Mustelids. This group includes weasels and skunks.
    
3. Wolverines are solitary except for mating and have large home ranges.
    
4. Wolverines are powerfully built and well suited to winter survival. They walk on the soles of their large feet like bears allowing them to move more easily through soft, deep snow.
    
5. The Wolverine has a powerful jaw capable of feeding on frozen meat and bone.
    
6. Wolverines will eat anything from small eggs to full-sized deer. Their diet is primarily carrion. However they are capable of brining down prey five times their size. Although primarily carnivores Wolverines will also eat berries and on occasion insects for protein.
    
7. Its head is broad and rounded with small eyes and short round ears.
    
8. Males are typically larger than females weighing 11 to 18 kilograms; females weigh six to 12 kilograms.
    
9. Fur is thick, glossy and dark brown. Some individuals have a silvery facial mask and a pale buff stripe running from shoulder to rump and crossing the rump just above the long, bushy tail.
    
10. Wolverines communicate with vocalizations and scent-making. Like the skunk they have well developed musk glands.
     
11. Wolverines give birth on average every two years to a litter of between two and five kits. Kit survival is low and as a result kit production is often less than one kit per adult female a year.
     
12. The solitary wolverines will come together to mate between May and August, with pairing lasting only a few days. Ovulation is thought to be induced by copulation. The embryo is implanted six months later and gestation takes 30 to 50 days. The kits are born between January and April.
     
13. The young are born with white fur and weigh around 84 grams. They nurse for 8-10 weeks and may remain with their mother for up to two years.
     
14. Wolverines den in a variety of structures. In BC they locate their dens under the snow associated with large rocks and downed logs at mid to high elevations. In Tundra environments they build elaborate dens often tunneling 50 metres or more into the snow.
     
15. Latest research indicates there are between 3,000 and 4,000 wolverines in British Columbia.