Part of the Weasel family. Wolverines are rarely seen by humans
as there are fewer than 900 in Alberta. Coats of fur can be
brown or black. The fur is long, shiny with a yellowish band
across the head and another across its lateral side. They do
excrete urine and other odors to mark their territory, which
earned them the dubious title of "stinky skunk" from
early settlers to Alberta.
What do wolverines eat? Well would you believe
that an animal 3 feet long would live off of hoofed animals.
Can you imagine such an animal attacking a fully grown buck
or moose? They also eat birds, beavers, mice, marmots, porcupines,
ground squirrels, berries, nuts and just about anything else
they can catch or steal. Wolverines, like many carnivores are
scavengers and have a keen sense of smell for another animal's
fresh kill. The jaws of wolverines are extrememly powerful and
they can use them to crush large bones.
Wolverines
run (if you can call it that) in a
very
unusual
hopping,
hunched over back, side and front-over gait!
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Wolverines, as members of the weasel family, are related to
the American badger, mink, fisher, marten, ferret, otter and
several other species called weasels. A wolverine's territory
can be enormous, with one of the largest territories of any
animal on earth.
