Something else I bet you never thought about

When I was quite small I saw a show on television about wolverines that has largely served as the basis of all my knowledge about this animal until this week. In the television production, the wolverine was a viscious beast that managed to continually break into a trapper's cabin and simply destroyed the place. This happened time and time again in spite of the trapper's repeated attempts to outsmart the animal and prevent his entry. This was probably filmed sometime in the '50s and biology for the wolverine simply didn't exist at the time. They were a much reviled beast at that time and because they (a) actually did have a tendency to break in and trash cabins and (b) were opportunistic feeders that enjoyed following the trap lines and eating whatever fur-bearing animals the trapper caught and (c) were quite aggresive when encounterd and (d) had no fur of value, they were considered a pest and a varmit and were actively pursued and killed. This image of a snarling, frightening bear-like critter has stayed with me all these years.

Last week I had an opportunity to attend a presentation delivered by Keith Aubry, a USFS field biologist, who has been studying wolverines in the North Cascades for the past few years. My perceptions have changed.

While they actually are a snarling, viscious little beast when cornered and remind me much of the Tasmanian Devil from Warner Brothers cartoons, they are quite secretive and exceptionally difficult to spot and study. Live trapping has allowed biologists to radio coller a few animals and from that they have begun to form some early opinions about the real nature of these animals. Google "wolverines in the North Cascades" and you'll find links to recent studies conducted by Dr Aubry.

It turns out that we've done to the wolverine pretty much the same thing we did to the wolf and grizzly bear and have driven it to the brink of disappearance. It's all about habitat loss and misunderstanding - the same old story. It's also interesting that the wolverine makes its range associated with the presence of snow in early spring. All wolverine offspring - kits - are born in snow caves. They will only occupy a range that is associated with snow on the ground during spring months which immediately limits their range to high latitude or high altitude. This is another species that will be heavily impacted by a warming climate since their range will rapidly diminish with shorter, warmer winters and lower snow cover. Read more and see if you don't change your opinion about these mysterious creatures.