Wolverines

A mid-size carnivore in the weasel family, the wolverine (Gulo gulo) is active throughout the year in cold, snowy environments. It has adapted to this relatively unproductive niche by occupying large home ranges at low densities, showing territorial behavior and exhibiting low reproductive rates. These characteristics have made wolverine populations inherently vulnerable to environmental changes. The wolverines’ circumpolar distribution extends south to mountainous areas of the western U.S., where it lives on islands of tundra, boreal, and alpine habitat located at increasingly higher elevations at more southerly latitudes. One of the largest of these islands is located in Greater Yellowstone, but the ability of young wolverines to disperse among the islands is critical to the population’s long-term viability. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has twice rejected petitions to list the wolverine under the Endangered Species Act, but is now completing a status review, due February 2008, to determine if it should be listed.

Report A Sighting of this species.
 
Updated 1/29/08