Wolverine
Gulo gulo
The largest land-dwelling weasel, the wolverine is a 40-pound animal that drives bears off of carcasses and roams hundreds of miles across snow.
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Wolverines need deep snow, cold temperatures, and vast unbroken territory. They live in the boreal forest, alpine tundra, and high northern latitudes — anywhere remote enough to stay clear of people.
Behavior
Wolverines are scavengers and opportunistic predators. A single animal can travel 15 miles in a day, climb sheer rock faces, and cache frozen meat under snow for months. Their jaws are powerful enough to bite through frozen carcasses that would break a wolf's teeth.
Marginalia
- Females den under deep spring snow — without persistent snowpack, kits can't survive.
- The genus name Gulo means "glutton" in Latin.
- A wolverine's territory can span 240 square miles for a single male.
- They are documented to have killed adult moose in deep snow.
Kin & neighbors
Common questions
Are wolverines dangerous to humans?
Almost never, because you will almost never see one. Wolverines live where people don't and flee human contact; there is no meaningful record of unprovoked attacks on people. Cornered or trapped, a wolverine fights with startling ferocity for its size — but the animal's whole strategy is to avoid the encounter in the first place.
Why is a wolverine called a skunk bear?
For its smell and its build. The wolverine has well-developed anal scent glands and marks food and territory with a musk pungent enough to earn the nicknames skunk bear and nasty cat. The bear half comes from its stocky, shuffling, plantigrade gait — it walks on the flats of its feet like a small bear rather than on its toes like a dog.
What do wolverines eat?
Whatever the season offers, leaning heavily on carrion. In winter a wolverine survives largely by finding the frozen carcasses of animals killed by avalanches, wolves, or the cold, and gnawing through bone other scavengers can't. In summer it hunts ground squirrels, marmots, and birds, raids nests, and takes berries — a true generalist that wastes nothing.
How long do wolverines live?
Around 7 to 12 years in the wild, longer in captivity. Survival hinges on holding a vast territory with enough food through the lean winters, and many young animals die before they ever secure one. Females breed slowly and not every year, which leaves the species poorly equipped to recover from losses.
Can a wolverine kill a wolf?
One-on-one it can hold its own, and occasionally win, but it rarely tries. The wolverine's reputation rests on bluff and ferocity — it will face down a single wolf or bear to defend a carcass and often drives them off without a fight. Against a pack it has no chance and knows it, which is why it favors country too rugged and remote for wolves to bother with.