Wolverine Hunting

Wolverine

(Gulo gulo)

Current SCI all time record: Score 11 7/16 - Yukon, Mayo Lake - 8/74

Description: The wolverine has been called "skunk-bear", because of the light coloured stripe that originates on the shoulders, traverses both sides of the body, and merges into one stripe at the base of the tail. The stripe is usually blonde, and contrasts with the dark brown to near black background fur, but it may be darker or absent in some individuals.

If not for its bushy tail, the wolverine might be mistaken for a small bear. Males are the larger sex, weighing 11 to 16 kilograms: female weights range from 8 to 11 kilograms.

Other Common Names:

Size:

Range: Alaska, Canada, northern Greenland, and parts of the northern and central U.S.; fall hunting and winter trapping.

In the Yukon, wolverines occur in all habitats, from forested valleys to alpine and arctic tundra. However they are most abundant in mountainous regions that support a variety of habitats and a diversity of prey. Canada's best wolverine range, the southwest Yukon, supports approximately one wolverine per 180 square kilometers.

Natural History: Despite popular opinion, the wolverine is not a hunter of large mammals. Its relatively small size and solitary habit are not favorable attributes for bringing down an adult moose or caribou. Instead, it obtains much of its food by scavenging, particularly by cleaning up kills of moose, caribou, or sheep after the original hunters (usually wolves) have finished their meal. The wolverine is well adapted for such a lifestyle. Its teeth are robust and the muscles of the neck are large, allowing it to crush bone and tear frozen flesh.

But the wolverine diet is not limited to carrion. It does hunt small mammals, including voles, mice, lemmings, red squirrels, ground squirrels, marmots, pikas, porcupine, snowshoe hare, fish, and birds. It will also kill Dall lambs and caribou calves on occasion. In summer, when alternate foods are more abundant, diets are more diverse and include roots, berries, insects, and bird eggs.

Wolverines breed during May through August, and females have a form of reproduction known as delayed implantation. Development stops shortly after the eggs are fertilized. The embryos float in the uterus until November-January, when implantation into the uterine wall occurs. Litters are normally small, with two to four kits being born during January to March, although most births occur in early spring.

As scavengers, wolverines may be faced with scarce food supplies, and delayed implantation allows a female to continue her pregnancy only if she is in good condition. Some females resorb the embryos, especially if they have had young the previous spring and are in poor condition.

Home ranges of adult males vary from 300 to 500 square kilometers in size, while those of adult females vary from 100 to 350 square kilometers. The size depends partly on the quality and quantity of food in the area. If food is not abundant, the range will be larger because the wolverine will have to cover a larger area to meet its nutritional requirements.

The home range of a male overlaps the ranges of three to six adult females during the breeding period. Home ranges do not overlap among adult females or among adult males. The kits are adult size by fall and, by late winter, they usually disperse. Young males may travel hundreds of kilometer before they find an empty range they can claim as their own. Young females are tolerated by adults of both sexes and they establish home ranges next to their mothers, or assume part of her range.

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