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{{Short description|Species of the family Mustelidae}}
{{distinguish|kinkajou}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Pleistocene]]–recent, {{fossil range|2.588|0}}<ref>{{cite web |title=''Gulo gulo'' Linnaeus 1758 (wolverine)- |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=46742&is_real_user=1 |website=PBDB}}</ref>
| name = Wolverine
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Abramov, A.V. |date=2016 |title=''Gulo gulo'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T9561A45198537 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T9561A45198537.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> (Global)
| status2 = VU
| status2_system = IUCN3.1
| status2_ref =<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Andrén, H. |year=2025 |title=''Gulo gulo'' (Europe assessment) |volume=2025 |page=e.T9561A216872666 |doi= |access-date=6 June 2025}}</ref> (Europe)
| image = Gulo gulo 2.jpg
| genus = Gulo
| species = gulo
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = American wolverine (''G. g. luscus'') <br />
Eurasian wolverine (''G. g. gulo'')
| range_map = Gulo gulo distribution.svg
| range_map_caption = Wolverine ranges
| synonyms = ''Mustela gulo'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small><br />
''Ursus luscus'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small>
}}
The '''wolverine''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ʊ|l|v|ə|r|iː|n}} {{respell|WUUL|və|reen}}, {{IPAc-en|usalso|ˌ|w|ʊ|l|v|ə|ˈ|r|iː|n}} {{respell|WUUL|və|REEN}};<ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> '''''Gulo gulo'''''), also called the '''carcajou''' or '''quickhatch''' (from [[East Cree]], ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling [[species|member]] of the family [[Mustelidae]]. It is a muscular [[carnivore]] and a [[solitary animal]].<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
The wolverine is found primarily in remote reaches of the northern [[Taiga|boreal forests]] and [[subarctic]] and [[alpine tundra]] of the [[Northern Hemisphere]], with the greatest numbers in [[Northern Canada]], the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]], the mainland [[Nordic countries]] of [[Europe]], and throughout western [[Russia]] and [[Siberia]]. Its population has steadily declined since the 19th century owing to [[trapping]], range reduction and [[habitat fragmentation]]. The wolverine is now essentially absent from the southern end of its range in both Europe and [[North America]].
==Naming==
The wolverine's questionable reputation as an insatiable glutton (reflected in its Latin genus name ''Gulo'', meaning "glutton") may be in part due to a [[false etymology]]. The less common name for the animal in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], ''fjellfross'', meaning "mountain cat", is thought to have worked its way into German as ''Vielfraß'',<ref>{{Cite web|title= Vielfraß | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition, Herkunft|url=https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Vielfrasz
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141109220237/http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Vielfrasz |archive-date=9 November 2014
|access-date=2023-02-07|website=www.duden.de|language=de}}</ref> which means "glutton" (literally "devours much"). Its name in other West Germanic languages is similar (e.g. {{langx|nl|veelvraat}}).
The Finnish name is ''ahma'', derived from ''ahmatti,'' which is translated as "glutton". Similarly, the [[Estonian language|Estonian]] name is ''ahm'', with the equivalent meaning to the Finnish name. In [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], it is ''ernis''; in [[Latvian language|Latvian]], ''tinis'' or ''āmrija''.
The [[East Slavic languages|Eastern Slavic]] росомаха (''rosomakha'') and the Polish and [[Czech language|Czech]] name ''rosomák'' seem to be borrowed from the Finnish ''rasva-maha'' (fat belly). Similarly, the Hungarian name is ''rozsomák'' or ''torkosborz'' which means "gluttonous badger".{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
In French-speaking parts of Canada, the wolverine is referred to as ''carcajou'', borrowed from the [[Innu-aimun]] or [[Innu language|Montagnais]] ''kuàkuàtsheu''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/carcajou |title=The Free Dictionary |publisher=The Free Dictionary |access-date=4 October 2010}}</ref> However, in France, the wolverine's name is ''glouton'' (glutton).
Purported gluttony is reflected neither in the English name ''wolverine'' nor in the names used in [[North Germanic languages]]. The English word wolverine (alteration of the earlier form, wolvering, of uncertain origin) probably implies "a little wolf". The name in [[Proto-Norse]], ''[[Hogganvik runestone|erafaz]]'' and [[Old Norse]], ''jarfr'', lives on in the regular [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] name ''jarfi'', regular Norwegian name ''jerv'', regular Swedish name ''järv'' and regular Danish name ''jærv''.
==Taxonomy and evolutionary history==
===Classification===
[[File:Gulo gulo.jpg|thumb|left|Wolverine skull from the [[Pleistocene]] of Germany at the [[Natural History Museum, Berlin]]]]
[[File:Gulo gulo - Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria - Genoa, Italy - DSC02641.JPG|thumb|Stuffed individual at the [[Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria]], Italy]]
Genetic evidence suggests that the wolverine is most closely related to the [[tayra]] and [[martens]], all of which shared a Eurasian ancestor.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Koepfli | first1 = Klaus-Peter | title = Multigene phylogeny of the Mustelidae: Resolving relationships, tempo and biogeographic history of a mammalian adaptive radiation | journal = BMC Biology | volume = 6 | article-number = 10 | date = February 2008 | doi = 10.1186/1741-7007-6-10 | pmid = 18275614 | last2 = Deere | first2 = KA | last3 = Slater | first3 = GJ | last4 = Begg | first4 = C | last5 = Begg | first5 = K | last6 = Grassman | first6 = L | last7 = Lucherini | first7 = M | last8 = Veron | first8 = G | last9 = Wayne | first9 = RK | pmc = 2276185 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
There are two [[subspecies]]: the [[Old World]] form, ''Gulo gulo gulo'', and the [[New World]] form, ''G. g. luscus''. Some authors had described as many as four additional North American subspecies, including ones limited to [[Vancouver Island]] (''G. g. vancouverensis'') and the [[Kenai Peninsula]] in Alaska (''G. g. katschemakensis''). However, the most currently accepted taxonomy recognizes either the two continental [[subspecies]] or ''G. gulo'' as a single [[Holarctic]] taxon.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /><ref name="Tomasik2005">{{cite journal |last1=Tomasik |first1=Eric |last2=Cook |first2=Joseph A. |s2cid=14887344 |name-list-style=amp |title=Mitochondrial phylogeography and conservation genetics of wolverine (''gulo gulo'') of Northwestern North America |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |volume=86 |pages=386–396 |year=2005 |doi=10.1644/BER-121.1 |issue=2 |citeseerx=10.1.1.385.2735}}</ref>
===Evolution===
Recently compiled genetic evidence suggests most of North America's wolverines are descended from a single source, likely originating from [[Beringia]] during the last glaciation and rapidly expanding thereafter, though considerable uncertainty to this conclusion is due to the difficulty of collecting samples in the extremely depleted southern extent of the range.<ref name="Tomasik2005"/>
==Physical characteristics==
{{multiple image |align=right |direction=vertical |image1=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Gulo gulo skull).jpg |caption1=Skull |image2=Description iconographique comparée du squelette et du système dentaire des mammifères récents et fossiles (Gulo gulo).jpg |caption2=Skeleton}}
Anatomically, the wolverine is an elongated animal that is low to the ground. With strong limbs, broad and rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears, it most closely resembles a large [[fisher (animal)|fisher]]. Though its legs are short, its large, five-toed paws with crampon-like claws and [[plantigrade]] posture enable it to climb up and over steep cliffs, trees and snow-covered peaks with relative ease.<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115" />
The adult wolverine is about the size of a medium dog, with a body length ranging from {{convert|65|–|109|cm|in|abbr=on}}; standing {{convert|36|–|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} at the shoulder; and a tail length of {{convert|17|–|26|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}. Weight is usually {{convert|11|–|18|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in males, and in females {{convert|8|–|12|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/mspecies/article-pdf/doi/10.1644/0.499.1/8071371/499-1.pdf |title=''Gulo gulo''|journal=Mammalian Species |year=1995 |publisher=The [[American Society of Mammalogists]] |doi=10.1644/0.499.1 |s2cid=253916056 |access-date=16 August 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Burton |first1=Maurice |last2=Burton |first2=Robert |title=The international wildlife encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SOuIwf9ctK0C&pg=PA2959|access-date=16 September 2011 |year=1970 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=978-0-7614-7266-7 |pages=2959– |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231222619/http://books.google.com/books?id=SOuIwf9ctK0C&pg=PA2959 |archive-date=31 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wildlife/wsi/reports/769_WSI_769_RPT.PDF |title=The Northern Wolverine Project |website=Env.gov.bc.ca |access-date=20 August 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820012633/https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wildlife/wsi/reports/769_WSI_769_RPT.PDF }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/animals/mammal/gugu/all.html |title=''Gulo gulo'' — USDA Forest Service |access-date=20 August 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zigouris |first1=J. |last2=Schaefer |first2=J.A. |last3=Fortin |first3=C. |last4=Kyle |first4=C.J. |year=2013 |title=Phylogeography and post-glacial recolonization in wolverines (''Gulo gulo'') from across their circumpolar distribution |journal=[[PLOS ONE]] |volume=8 |issue=12 |page=e83837 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0083837 |pmid=24386287 |pmc=3875487 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...883837Z|doi-access=free }}</ref> Exceptionally large males of as much as {{convert|32|kg|lb|abbr=on}} are referenced in Soviet literature, though such weights are deemed in ''Mammals of the Soviet Union'' to be improbable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov212001gept/mammalsofsov212001gept_djvu.txt |title=Mammals of the Soviet Union |year=1988 |access-date=16 September 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Holbrow">Holbrow, W. C. (1976). ''The biology, mythology, distribution, and management of the wolverine (''Gulo gulo'') in western Canada''. The University of Manitoba (Masters Thesis).</ref><ref>Krott, P. (1959). ''Demon of the North''. A.A. Knopf, New York. 260pp. (Translated from German).</ref> The males are often 10–15% larger than the females in linear measurements and can be 30–40% greater in weight. According to some sources, Eurasian wolverines are claimed to be larger and heavier than those in North America, with weights of up to {{convert|20|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. However, this may refer more specifically to areas such as [[Siberia]], as data from [[Fennoscandian]] wolverines shows they are typically around the same size as their American counterparts.<ref name="Holbrow" /><ref>Weedle, F. (1968). ''The wolverine: the problems of a wilderness outcast''. [[Defenders of Wildlife News]] 43: 156–168.</ref><ref>Pulliainen, E. (1968). ''Breeding biology of the wolverine (''Gulo gulo'' L.) in Finland''. In [[Annales Zoologici Fennici]] (Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 338–344). Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board.</ref><ref>Järvenpää, J., & Norberg, H. (2011). ''Carnivore Nature Guide''. European Agricultural Fund
for Rural Development.</ref><ref>Wiig, Ø. (1989). ''Craniometric variation in Norwegian wolverines ''Gulo gulo'' L.'' [[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]], 95(3), 177–204.</ref> It is the largest of terrestrial [[mustelid]]s; only the marine-dwelling [[sea otter]], the [[giant otter]] of the Amazon basin and the semi-aquatic [[African clawless otter]] are larger—while the [[European badger]] may reach a similar body mass, especially in autumn.
Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur which is highly [[hydrophobe|hydrophobic]], making it resistant to frost. This has led to its traditional popularity among hunters and trappers as a lining in jackets and [[Anorak|parkas]] in Arctic conditions. A light-silvery facial mask is distinct in some individuals, and a pale buff stripe runs laterally from the shoulders along the side and crossing the rump just above a {{convert|25|–|35|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} bushy tail. Some individuals display prominent white hair patches on their throats or chests.<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
Like many other mustelids, it has potent [[Anal glands|anal scent glands]] used for [[territorial marking|marking territory]] and sexual signaling. The pungent odor has given rise to the nicknames "skunk bear" and "nasty cat." The anal gland secretion for the samples obtained from six animal's secretion was complex and variable: 123 compounds were detected in total, with the number per animal ranging from 45 to 71 compounds. Only six compounds were common to all extracts: 3-methylbutanoic acid, 2-methylbutanoic acid, phenylacetic acid, alpha-tocopherol, cholesterol, and a compound tentatively identified as 2-methyldecanoic acid. The highly odoriferous thietanes and dithiolanes found in anal gland secretions of some members of the Mustelinae [ferrets, mink, stoats, and weasels (Mustela spp.) and zorillas (Ictonyx spp.)] were not observed. The composition of the wolverine's anal gland secretion is similar to that of two other members of the Mustelinae, the pine and beech marten (Martes spp.)<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | last2 = Terwilliger | first2 = Miranda N. | last3 = Copeland | first3 = Jeffrey P. | year = 2005 | title = Volatile compounds from anal glands of the wolverine, Gulo gulo | journal = J. Chemical Ecology | volume = 31 | issue = 9 | pages = 2111–2117| doi=10.1007/s10886-005-6080-9| pmid = 16132215 | bibcode = 2005JCEco..31.2111W | s2cid = 6072649 }}
</ref>
Wolverines, like other mustelids, possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees, towards the inside of the mouth. This special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid.<ref>{{cite web | last = Pratt | first = Philip | title = Dentition of the Wolverine | publisher = The Wolverine Foundation, Inc. | url = http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/dentition.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527021506/http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/dentition.htm | archive-date = 27 May 2008 | access-date = 1 July 2007}}</ref><ref name="akfishgame">{{cite web | last = Taylor | first = Ken | title = Wolverine | work = Wildlife Notebook Series | publisher = Alaska Department of Fish & Game | year = 1994 | url = http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/wolverin.php | access-date = 21 January 2007 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061206233223/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/furbear/wolverin.php | archive-date = 6 December 2006}}</ref>
Wolverine have the highest [[compressive strength]] per [[Trabecula|trabecular bone]] volumetric fraction (A 10mm high × 5mm diameter cilinder) at the mandibular [[Condyloid process|condyle]] among all carnivore mammals at 940.8 [[Newton (unit)|Newtons]], followed by the [[cheetah]] at 784.4 Newtons, the [[Malagasy civet]] at 714.4 Newtons, the [[honey badger]] at 710.8 Newtons and the [[kinkajou]] at 693.2 Newtons.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wysocki |first1=M. A. |last2=Tseng |first2=Z. J. |date=2018 |title=Allometry predicts trabecular bone structural properties in the carnivoran jaw joint |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=13 |issue=8 |pages=e0202824 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0202824 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6108490 |pmid=30142221|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1302824W }}</ref>
==Distribution==
[[File:Wolverine on rock.jpg|thumb|Wolverine on rocky terrain]]
[[File:Mt. Forbes summit; wolverine tracks.jpg|thumb|Wolverine tracks on [[Mount Forbes|Mt. Forbes]] ]]
Wolverines live primarily in isolated [[arctic]], boreal, and [[Alpine climate|alpine]] regions of northern Canada, [[Alaska]], [[Siberia]], and [[Fennoscandia]]; they are also native to [[European Russia]], the [[Baltic region|Baltic]] countries, the [[Russian Far East]], northeast China and [[Mongolia]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-10 |title=Wolverine {{!}} Size, Habitat, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/wolverine |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wolverine Foundation {{!}} Wolverine Distribution |url=https://wolverinefoundation.org/distribution |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=The Wolverine Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>LIU Xu, MA Ming, XU Fujun, XIONG Jiawu, Zhu Shibing, CUI Shaopeng, JIANG Zhigang, ZHANG Tong, GUO Hong, ERBOLAT Tuoliuhan. A preliminary study of wolverine in Altay, Xinjiang[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2018, 38(5): 519–524.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-29 |title=Wolverine, facts and information |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/wolverine |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref>
Wolverine remains have been found in [[Ukraine]], but they are extirpated there today and it is unclear whether the wolverines would have formed sustainable populations.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Marciszak|first1=Adrian|last2=Kovalchuk|first2=Oleksandr|date=July 2011|title=The wolverine Gulo gulo Linnaeus, 1758 from the Late Pleistocene site at Kaniv: a short review of the history of the species in the Ukraine|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233685436|access-date=October 5, 2021|website=researchgate.net}}</ref>
Unique records of encounters with wolverines have been noted in [[Latvia]], the most recent one being in late July 2022 (although it can be disputed because of the unclear footage); the population was widespread in the 16th and 17th centuries, but nowadays it is not native to the area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mednieki Matīšu pagastā sastapušies ar neparastu, iepriekš neredzētu dzīvnieku |url=https://jauns.lv/raksts/zinas/512648-mednieki-matisu-pagasta-sastapusies-ar-neparastu-ieprieks-neredzetu-dzivnieku |access-date=25 Jul 2022 |website=Jauns.lv|date=25 July 2022 }}</ref>
Most [[New World]] wolverines live in Canada and Alaska.<ref name="rickert"/> However, wolverines were once recorded as also being present in Colorado,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Spencer |date=2023-08-24 |title=Wolverines could be next up for reintroduction in Colorado |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/wolverines-reintroduction-colorado/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}</ref> areas of the [[southwestern United States]] (Arizona and New Mexico), the Midwest (Indiana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), [[New England]] (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts) and in New York<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esf.edu/efb/lomolino/courses/MammalDiversity/labs/ExNYS.pdf|title=Extirpated and Rare Species of New York State|website=Esf.edu|access-date=2022-03-04|archive-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208155844/https://www.esf.edu/efb/lomolino/courses/MammalDiversity/labs/ExNYS.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nhpbs.org/wild/wolverine.asp |title=Wolverine – Gulo gulo | Wildlife Journal Junior |website=Nhpbs.org |date= |access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref>
In the [[Sierra Nevada]], wolverines were sighted near Winnemucca Lake in spring 1995 and at Toe Jam Lake north of the Yosemite border in 1996; and later photographed by baited cameras, including in 2008 and 2009, near [[Lake Tahoe]].<ref name="knudson">{{cite news|last=Knudson |first=Tom |title=Sighting prompts California to expand search for elusive wolverine |newspaper=Sacramento Bee |date=5 April 2008 |url=http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/838651.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080718112823/http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/838651.html |archive-date=18 July 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Associated Press">{{cite news | last = Griffith | first = Martin | title = A year later, wolverine spotted again in Sierra | newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle | date = 22 March 2009 | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/22/state/n121949D73.DTL | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090426073503/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2009%2F03%2F22%2Fstate%2Fn121949D73.DTL | archive-date = 26 April 2009 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>[http://yubanet.com/regional/Wolverine-Sighting-on-SPI-Land-near-Truckee.php Wolverine Sighting on SPI Land near Truckee] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206043010/http://yubanet.com/regional/Wolverine-Sighting-on-SPI-Land-near-Truckee.php |date=6 February 2011}}. yubanet.com. 18 March 2009</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2016-07-24/scientists-capture-rare-images-of-wolverine-in-sierra-nevada |title=Scientists capture rare images of wolverine in Sierra Nevada | U.S. News | US News |access-date=12 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183204/https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2016-07-24/scientists-capture-rare-images-of-wolverine-in-sierra-nevada |archive-date=13 September 2017}}</ref> According to a 2014 [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]] publication, "wolverines are found in the [[North Cascades]] in Washington and the Northern Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, Oregon ([[Wallowa Range]]), and Wyoming. Individual wolverines have also moved into historic range in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but have not established breeding populations in these areas".<ref>{{cite web|date=August 25, 2014|title=Endangered Species – Mountain Prairie Region – WOLVERINE|url=https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/species/mammals/wolverine/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706072115/https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/species/mammals/wolverine/|archive-date=July 6, 2017|publisher=[[U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]]}}</ref> In 2022, [[Colorado Parks and Wildlife]] considered plans to reintroduce the wolverine to the state.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/07/wolverine-reintroduction-colorado-parks-wildlife/ |title=Colorado Parks and Wildlife is dusting off a plan to reintroduce wolverines |work=The Colorado Sun |last=Blevins |first=Jason |date=7 March 2022 |access-date=21 March 2022}}</ref>
Wolverines are also found in Utah but are very rarely seen, with only six confirmed sightings since the first confirmed sighting in 1979. Three of these six confirmed Utah sightings have been caught on video.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Carter|last2=July 2|first2=KSL com {{!}} Updated-|last3=July 1|first3=2021 at 11:04 a m {{!}} Posted-|last4=P.m|first4=2021 at 6:07|title=Rare wolverine sighting in Layton may be same animal spotted in May|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50197410/rare-wolverine-sighting-in-layton-may-be-same-animal-spotted-in-may|access-date=2021-10-05|website=www.ksl.com|language=en}}</ref> A wolverine, a male, was finally captured and tagged in Utah in 2022 before being released back into the wild to better understand the animal's range.<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Carter|title='A once-in-a-lifetime experience' Utah biologists catch wolverine 43 years after 1st sighting |access-date=2022-03-14|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50367540/a-once-in-a-lifetime-experience-biologists-catch-wolverine-43-years-after-species-1st-utah-sighting |publisher=www.ksl.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Madani|first=Doha|title=Rare wolverine captured in Utah is 'once-in-a-lifetime' find for researchers|access-date=2022-03-19|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/rare-wolverine-capture-utah-lifetime-find-researchers-rcna20163|website=[[NBC News]]|date=15 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
In August 2020, the [[National Park Service]] reported that wolverines had been sighted at [[Mount Rainier]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], for the first time in more than a century. The sighting was of a reproductive female and her two offspring.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wolverines Return to Mount Rainier National Park After More Than 100 Years |url=https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/news/wolverines-return-to-mount-rainier-national-park-after-more-than-100-years.htm |website=nps.gov |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=25 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824023811/https://www.nps.gov/mora/learn/news/wolverines-return-to-mount-rainier-national-park-after-more-than-100-years.htm |archive-date=24 August 2020 |date=20 August 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2004, the first confirmed sighting of a wolverine in Michigan since the early 19th century took place, when a [[Michigan Department of Natural Resources]] wildlife biologist photographed a wolverine in [[Ubly, Michigan]].<ref>{{Cite news
|title=First Michigan wolverine spotted in 200 years|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4374309|access-date=2023-02-07|website=NBC News
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160201063131/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4374309/ns/technology_and_science-science/
| archive-date= 1 February 2016
| agency= Associated Press
| date = 25 February 2004
| first = David| last = Runk
}}</ref> The specimen was found dead at the Minden City State Game Area in [[Sanilac County, Michigan]] in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mattson|first=Kyle|date=18 January 2016
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701165217/https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/no_michigans_first_wolverine_i.html
| archive-date= 1 July 2018
|title=No, Michigan's first wolverine in 200 years was not just spotted|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/2016/01/no_michigans_first_wolverine_i.html|access-date=2023-02-07|website=mlive|language=en}}</ref>
==Behavior and ecology==
[[File:Wolverine (Gulo gulo), Korkeasaari (video).webm|thumb|Video of a wolverine in the [[Korkeasaari Zoo]] of [[Helsinki]]]]
=== Diet and hunting ===
[[File:Ahma (Gulo gulo) 7 kallerna.jpg|thumb|Wolverine with prey in [[Finland]]]]
Wolverines are primarily [[scavenger]]s.<ref name="VanDijk">{{cite journal |author=Van Dijk, J., Gustavsen, L., Mysterud, A., May, R., Flagstad, Ø., Brøseth, H., ... and Landa, A. |year=2008 |title=Diet shift of a facultative scavenger, the wolverine, following recolonization of wolves |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=77 |issue=6 |pages=1183–1190 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01445.x |pmid=18657209 |bibcode=2008JAnEc..77.1183V |doi-access=free}}</ref> Most of their food is [[carrion]], especially in winter and early spring. They may find carrion themselves, feed on it after the predator (often, a [[wolf]] pack) has finished, or simply take it from another predator. Wolverines are known to follow wolf and [[lynx]] trails to scavenge the remains of their kills. Whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverine's feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of "glutton" (also the basis of the scientific name). However, this feeding style is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity, especially in winter.<ref>[http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=MA0160 Wolverine Gulo gulo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604183300/http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=MA0160 |date=4 June 2012}}, eNature.com</ref>
The wolverine is also a powerful and versatile predator. Its prey mainly consists of small to medium-sized mammals, but wolverines have been recorded killing prey many times larger than itself, such as adult deer. Prey species include [[porcupine]]s, [[squirrel]]s, [[chipmunk]]s, [[beaver]]s, [[marmot]]s, [[mole (animal)|moles]], [[gopher]]s, [[rabbit]]s, [[vole]]s, mice, rats, [[shrew]]s, [[lemming]]s, [[Reindeer|caribou]], [[roe deer]], [[white-tailed deer]], [[mule deer]], sheep, goats, cattle, [[bison]], [[moose]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scrafford |first1=Matthew A. |last2=Boyce |first2=Mark S. |year=2018 |title=Temporal patterns of wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) foraging in the boreal forest |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=99 |issue=3 |pages=693–701 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyy030 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and [[elk]].<ref>{{Cite web
| author1= Bret Weinstein
| author2= Liz Ballenger
| author3=Matthew Sygo
| work = Animal Diversity Web
| publisher= University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
|title=Gulo gulo| year = 1999
|url=http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/52386062/gulo_gulo_001.html|access-date=2023-02-07|archive-date=15 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015212645/http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/52386062/gulo_gulo_001.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Smaller predators are occasionally preyed on, including [[marten]]s, [[mink]], foxes, [[Eurasian lynx]],<ref name="A.A. Sludskii 1992. p. 625">Heptner, V.G. and Sludskii, A.A. (1992). Humans are apparently exempt. ''Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II Part 2 Carnivora: Hyenas and Cats''. New Delhi: Amerind Publishing, p. 625</ref> [[weasel]]s,<ref name="A.A. Sludskii 1992. p. 625" /> [[coyote]], and [[wolf]] pups. Wolverines have also been known to kill [[Canada lynx]] in the [[Yukon]] of Canada.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rockwood |first=Larry L |title=Introduction to Population Ecology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xHFuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA273 |url-status=live |publisher=Wiley |date=2015 |pages=273– |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505192841/https://books.google.com/books?id=xHFuCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA273 |archive-date=5 May 2016 |isbn=978-1-118-94755-5}}</ref> Wolverines often pursue live prey that are relatively easy to obtain, including animals caught in traps, newborn mammals, and deer (including adult moose and elk) when they are weakened by winter or immobilized by heavy snow. Their diets are sometimes supplemented by birds' eggs, birds (especially [[geese]]), [[root]]s, [[seed]]s, insect larvae, and [[berries]]. Adult wolverines appear to be one of the few conspecific mammal carnivores to actively pose a threat to [[golden eagles]]. Wolverines were observed to prey on nestling golden eagles in [[Denali National Park]].<ref>Petersen, M. R., D. N. Weir, and M. H. Dick. 1991. ''Birds of the Kilbuck and Ahklun Mountain Region, Alaska''. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish & Wildlife Service, North American Fauna 76, Washington, D.C.</ref> During incubation in Northern Sweden, an incubating adult golden eagle was killed in its nest by a wolverine.<ref>Bjärvall, A. and R. Franzén. 1986. ''Wolverine killed Golden Eagle''. Fauna Och Flora 81:205-206.</ref>
Wolverines inhabiting the [[Old World]] (specifically, [[Fennoscandia]]) hunt more actively than their North American relatives.<ref name="wwf">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wwf.se/source.php/1018447/Wolverine%20Symposium.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620034232/http://www.wwf.se/source.php/1018447/Wolverine%20Symposium.pdf|url-status=dead|title=World Wildlife Fund–Sweden: 1st International Symposium on Wolverine Research and Management|archive-date=20 June 2007|access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref> This may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are less dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it. They often feed on carrion left by wolves, so changes in wolf populations may affect the population of wolverines.<ref name="gr"/> They are also known on occasion to eat plant material.<ref name="rickert">{{cite news |last=Rickert |first=Eve |title=The perils of secrecy |url=http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17093 |url-status=live |newspaper=High Country News |date=28 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040255/http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17093 |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref>
Wolverines often [[Hoarding (animal behavior)|cache]] their food during times of plenty. This is of particular importance to [[Lactation|lactating]] females in the winter and early spring, a time when food is scarce.<ref name="LIVE SCI">{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/21590-wolverines-refrigerators-climate.html|title=Climate change could melt wolverines' snowy refrigerators|date=13 July 2012|access-date=22 October 2015|publisher=Live Science|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729015037/http://www.livescience.com/21590-wolverines-refrigerators-climate.html|archive-date=29 July 2015}}</ref>
===Reproduction===
Wolverines are [[induced ovulation (animals)|induced ovulators]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mead |first1=Rodney A. |last2=Bowles |first2=Mark |last3=Starypan |first3=Greg |last4=Jones |first4=Mike |date=1993-01-01 |title=Evidence for pseudopregnancy and induced ovulation in captive wolverines (Gulo gulo) |journal=Zoo Biology|language=en|volume=12|issue=4|pages=353–358|doi=10.1002/zoo.1430120405|issn=1098-2361}}</ref> Successful males will form lifetime relationships with two or three females, which they will visit occasionally, while other males are left without a mate.<ref name="Raloff"/> Mating season is in the summer, but the actual implantation of the embryo (blastocyst) in the [[uterus]] is [[embryonic diapause|stayed]] until early winter, delaying the development of the [[fetus]]. Females will often not produce young if food is scarce. The gestation period is 30–50 days, and litters of typically two or three young ("kits") are born in the spring. Kits develop rapidly, reaching adult size within the first year. The typical longevity of a wolverine in captivity is around 15 to 17 years, but in the wild the average lifespan is more likely between 8 and 10 years.<ref>{{Cite book|editor1-last=Feldhamer
|editor1-first=George A.
| first1= Jeffrey P. | last1= Copeland
| first2= Jackson S. | last2= Whitman
| chapter= Wolverine (Gulo gulo)
| pages= 672–681
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC&q=wolverine|title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation|editor2-last=Thompson
|editor2-first=Bruce C.
|editor3-last=Chapman|editor3-first=Joseph A.|date=2003|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1}}</ref>{{rp|676}} Fathers make visits to their offspring until they are weaned at 10 weeks of age; also, once the young are about six months old, some reconnect with their fathers and travel together for a time.<ref name="Raloff"/>
===Interspecies interactions===
[[Wolves]], [[American black bear]]s, [[brown bear]]s and [[cougar]]s are capable of killing adult wolverines, while smaller predators (like [[golden eagle]]s) can kill young and inexperienced individuals.<ref>Hornocker, M.G., Messick, J.P. & Melquist, W.E. 1981. "The wolverine in northwestern Montana". ''Canadian Journal of Zoology'', 59: 1286–1301.</ref> Wolves are thought to be the wolverine's most important natural predator, with the arrival of wolves to a wolverine's territory presumably leading the latter to abandon the area.<ref name=Smith>{{cite web |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-499-01-0001.pdf |title=Gulo gulo – The American Society of Mammalogists |publisher=smith.edu |access-date=23 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617132035/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-499-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2012}}</ref> Armed with powerful jaws, sharp claws, and a thick hide,<ref name="biomes">{{cite web |url=http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/wolverine.htm |title=World Biomes: Wolverine |publisher=Blueplanetbiomes.org |access-date=4 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923075158/http://blueplanetbiomes.org/wolverine.htm |archive-date=23 September 2010}}</ref> wolverines, like most [[mustelid]]s, are remarkably strong for their size. They may defend against larger or more numerous [[predator]]s such as wolves or bears.<ref name=Wolverine>{{cite web|title=Wolverine – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks|url=http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/wolverine.htm|publisher=Montana Outdoors|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928223026/http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/wolverine.htm|archive-date=28 September 2013}}</ref> By far, their most serious predator is the [[grey wolf]], with an extensive record of wolverine fatalities attributed to wolves in both North America and Eurasia.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Burkholder | first1 = B. L. | year = 1962 | title = Observations concerning wolverine | journal = Journal of Mammalogy | volume = 43 | issue = 2| pages = 263–264 | doi=10.2307/1377101| jstor = 1377101 }}</ref><ref>Boles, B. K. (1977). ''Predation by wolves on wolverines''. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 91(1), 68–69.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Palomares | first1 = F. | author-link2 = Tim Caro | last2 = Caro | first2 = T. M. | year = 1999 | title = Interspecific killing among mammalian carnivores | url = https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/51387/1/Palomares%20%26%20Caro_1999_Am%20Nat.pdf| journal = The American Naturalist | volume = 153 | issue = 5| pages = 492–508 | doi=10.1086/303189| hdl = 10261/51387 | pmid=29578790| bibcode = 1999ANat..153..492P | s2cid = 4343007 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>White, K. S., Golden, H. N., Hundertmark, K. J., & Lee, G. R. (2002). ''Predation by Wolves, Canis lupus, on Wolverines, Gulo gulo, and an American Marten, Martes americana, in Alaska''. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 116(1), 132–134.</ref> In North America, another predator (less frequent) is the [[cougar]].<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dqg2AQAAMAAJ&q=mountain+lion+kill+wolverine&pg=SL14-PA36 |title = White River National Forest (N.F.), Land and Resource Management Plan: Environmental Impact Statement|page=36|year = 2002}}</ref> At least one account reported a wolverine's apparent attempt to steal a kill from a [[American Black Bear|black bear]], although the bear won what was ultimately a fatal contest for the wolverine.<ref name="WNS">{{cite press release | title = When Predators Attack (Each Other): Researchers Document First-known Killing of a Wolverine by a Black Bear in Yellowstone | publisher = Science Daily | date = 6 May 2003 | url = https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030506073236.htm | access-date = 16 January 2007 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220034045/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/05/030506073236.htm | archive-date = 20 February 2007}}</ref> There are a few accounts of [[brown bear]]s killing and consuming wolverines as well and, although also reported at times to be chased off prey, in some areas such as [[Denali National Park]], wolverines seemed to try to actively avoid encounters with grizzly bears as they have been reported in areas where wolves start hunting them.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2193/0022-541X(2004)068[0493:SOSRAC]2.0.CO;2|title=Synthesis of Survival Rates and Causes of Mortality in North American Wolverines|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=68|issue=3|pages=493–502|jstor=3803381|year=2004|last1=Krebs|first1=John|last2=Lofroth|first2=Eric|last3=Copeland|first3=Jeffrey|last4=Banci|first4=Vivian|last5=Cooley|first5=Dorothy|last6=Golden|first6=Howard|last7=Magoun|first7=Audrey|last8=Mulders|first8=Robert|last9=Shults|first9=Brad|s2cid=85682054 }}</ref><ref name= Murie>Murie, A. (2012). ''The grizzlies of Mount McKinley''. University of Washington Press.</ref>
===Urine scent marking===
Wolverines have been observed to use urine as a scent-marking behavior. Headspace analysis of the volatiles emanating from urine samples identified 19 potential [[semiochemical]]s. The major classes of identified chemicals are the ketones: 2-heptanone, 4-heptanone and 4-nonanone and the monoterpenes: alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, linalool and geraniol. In other mammals, the excretion of these terpenes is unusual. The conifer needles that are found in wolverine scat are likely the source of these monoterpenes.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | last2 = Copeland | first2 = Jeffrey P. | last3 = Yates | first3 = Richard E. | last4 = Horsey | first4 = Iman K. | last5 = McGreevy | first5 = Lynne R. | year = 2009 | title = Potential semiochemicals in urine from free ranging wolverines (Gulo gulo Pallas, 1780) | journal = Biochemical Systematics and Ecology | volume = 37 | issue = 5 | pages = 574–578 | doi=10.1016/j.bse.2009.09.007| bibcode = 2009BioSE..37..574W }}</ref>
==Threats and conservation==
The world's total wolverine population is not known. The animal exhibits a low population density and requires a very large home range.<ref name="gr">{{Cite web|last=Hurowitz|first=Glenn|date=5 March 2008|title=First wolverine in 30 years spotted in California|url=https://grist.org/article/wolverine-wonder/|access-date=2023-02-07|website=Grist
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120811064710/http://grist.org/article/wolverine-wonder/
| archive-date= 11 August 2012
}}{{pb}}{{cite web | url = http://www.physorg.com/news124013684.html | title = Camera Spots Wolverine in Sierra Nevada | date = 6 March 2008 | work = physorg.com | author = US Forest Service | access-date = 21 February 2010 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081012203958/http://www.physorg.com/news124013684.html | archive-date = 12 October 2008}}</ref> The wolverine is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern because of its "wide distribution, remaining large populations, and the unlikelihood that it is in decline at a rate fast enough to trigger even Near Threatened".<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" />
The range of a male wolverine can be more than {{convert|620|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, encompassing the ranges of several females which have smaller home ranges of roughly 130–260 km<sup>2</sup> (50–100 mi<sup>2</sup>). Adult wolverines try for the most part to keep nonoverlapping ranges with adults of the same sex.<ref name="akfishgame"/> Radio tracking suggests an animal can range hundreds of miles in a few months.
Female wolverines burrow into snow in February to create a den, which is used until weaning in mid-May. Areas inhabited nonseasonally by wolverines are thus restricted to zones with late-spring [[snowmelt]]s. This fact has led to concern that [[global warming]] will shrink the ranges of wolverine populations.<ref name="Raloff">{{Cite journal | last = Raloff | first = Janet | title = Wolverine: Climate warming threatens comeback | journal = [[Science News]] | volume = 178 | publisher = [[Society for Science & the Public]] | date = 21 October 2010 | url = http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64508/description/Wolverine_Climate_warming_threatens_comeback | access-date = 31 October 2010 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130513173514/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64508/description/Wolverine_Climate_warming_threatens_comeback | archive-date = 13 May 2013}}</ref>
This requirement for large territories brings wolverines into conflict with human development, and hunting and trapping further reduce their numbers, causing them to disappear from large parts of their former range; attempts to have them declared an endangered species have met with little success.<ref name="gr"/> In February 2013, the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] proposed giving [[Endangered Species Act]] protections to the wolverine due to its winter [[habitat]] in the northern Rockies diminishing. This was as a result of a lawsuit brought by the [[Center for Biological Diversity]] and [[Defenders of Wildlife]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barringer|first=Felicity|date=2013-02-02|title=U.S. Proposes to Protect Wolverines|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/science/earth/us-proposes-protecting-the-wolverine.html|access-date=2023-02-07|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Judge: Climate change imperils wolverines|url=https://www.union-bulletin.com/news/northwest/judge-climate-change-imperils-wolverines/article_0b37e62a-fb83-11e5-b574-5b6a2d8ef9bb.html|access-date=2023-02-07|website=Union-Bulletin.com|date=5 April 2016 |language=en}}</ref> In November 2023, the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] announced that it was adding the wolverine in the [[United States]] [[Lower 48]] states to the threatened list.<ref>{{cite news |last=Grandoni |first=Dino |date=2023-11-29 |title=It's furry, it's fierce — and in much of the U.S., it's now protected |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/29/wolverine-climate-endangered/ |access-date=2023-12-10}}</ref>
The [[Wildlife Conservation Society]] reported in June 2009 that a wolverine researchers had been tracking for almost three months had crossed into northern [[Colorado]]. Society officials had tagged the young male wolverine in [[Wyoming]] near [[Grand Teton National Park]], and it had traveled southward for about {{convert|500|mi}}. It was the first wolverine seen in Colorado since 1919, and its appearance was also confirmed by the [[Colorado Division of Wildlife]].<ref>{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press |title=Wolverine confirmed in Colo., the first since 1919 |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=19 June 2009 |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Wolverine_In_Colorado.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622030129/http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Wolverine_In_Colorado.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm |archive-date=22 June 2009 }}</ref> In May 2016 the same wolverine was killed by a cattle ranch-hand in North Dakota, ending a greater-than-{{convert|800|mi|km|adj=on}} trip by this lone male wolverine, dubbed M-56. This was the first verified sighting of a Wolverine in North Dakota in 150 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/north-dakota-wolverine-shot-rancher-150-years?CMP=fb_us|title='Killed this here critter': outrage after US rancher shoots rare wolverine|date=13 May 2016|author=Levin, Sam|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610133854/http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/north-dakota-wolverine-shot-rancher-150-years?CMP=fb_us|archive-date=10 June 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> In February 2014, a wolverine was seen in Utah, the first confirmed sighting in that state in 30 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wolverine caught on camera in Utah for 1st time|url=http://www.ksl.com/?sid=30554173&nid=148&fm=home_page&s_cid=toppick5|author=Crofts, Natalie|date=2 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191007/http://www.ksl.com/?sid=30554173&nid=148&fm=home_page&s_cid=toppick5|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Country
! Population in surveyed area
! Surveyed area
! Year
! State of population
|-
| Sweden
| 265+<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115">{{cite web |url=http://www1.nina.no/lcie_new/pdf/634991273519569695_COE%20NE%20115%20Action%20plan%20for%20wolverines%202000.pdf |title=Action Plan for the conservation of Wolverines (''Gulo gulo'') in Europe |access-date=25 January 2008 |author1=Landa, Arild |author2=Lindén, Mats |author3=Kojola, Ilpo |name-list-style=amp |year=2000 |work=Nature and environment, No. 115 |publisher=Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429204820/http://www1.nina.no/lcie_new/pdf/634991273519569695_COE%20NE%20115%20Action%20plan%20for%20wolverines%202000.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2015}}</ref>
| [[Norrbotten]]<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| 1995–97<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Stable<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
|-
| Norway
| 150+<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| [[Snøhetta]] plateau and North<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| 1995–97<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Decline<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
|-
| Norway and Sweden – overall<ref name="EC 2012">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/carnivores/conservation_status.htm |title=Conservation status of large carnivores |work=Environment > Nature and Biodiversity |publisher=European Commission |date=10 May 2016 |access-date=12 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113145707/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/carnivores/conservation_status.htm |archive-date=13 January 2017}}</ref>
| 1065<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| Overall<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| 2012<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| Increase<ref name="EC 2012"/>
|-
| Finland
| 155–170<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| [[Karelia]] and North<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| 2008<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Stable<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
|-
| Finland – overall<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| 165–175<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| Overall<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| 2012<ref name="EC 2012"/>
| Increase<ref name="EC 2012"/>
|-
| Russia
| 1500<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| [[European Russia]]<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| 1970, 1990,<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Decline<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
|-
| Russia – [[Komi Republic|Komi]]
| 885<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| –
| 1990<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| –
|-
| Russia – [[Arkhangelsk Oblast|Archangelsk Oblast]]
| 410<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| [[Nenets Autonomous Okrug|Nenetsky Autonomous Area]]<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| 1990<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Limited<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
|-
| Russia – [[Kola Peninsula]]
| 160<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Hunting Districts<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| 1990<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
| Decline<ref name="lcie-coe-ne-115"/>
|-
| United States – [[Alaska]]<ref name="wf-kobuk">{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/research/kobuk.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218111418/http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/research/kobuk.htm |archive-date=18 December 2010 |title=population ecology of wolverines within Kobuk valley national park and Selawik national wildlife refuge |access-date=26 January 2008 |author1=Shults, Brad |author2=Peltola, Gene |author3=Belant, Jerrold |author4=Kunkel, Kyran |name-list-style=amp |date=1998|work=[[Rocky Mountain Research Station]], US Department of Agriculture – Forest Service
}}</ref>
| Unknown<ref name="wf-kobuk"/>
| [[Kobuk Valley National Park]],<ref name="wf-kobuk"/> [[Selawik National Wildlife Refuge]]<ref name="wf-kobuk"/>
| 1998<ref name="wf-kobuk"/>
| Decline<ref name="wf-kobuk"/>
|-
| United States – [[Alaska]]<ref name="bioone-wf-egw">
{{cite journal
|doi=10.2981/0909-6396(2007)13[52:EWGGPS]2.0.CO;2
|title=Estimating wolverine ''Gulo gulo'' population size using quadrat sampling of tracks in snow
|journal=Wildlife Biology
|volume=13 |issue=sp2 |page=52
|year=2007
|last1=Golden
|first1=Howard N.
|last2=Henry
|first2=J. David
|last3=Becker
|first3=Earl F.
|last4=Goldstein
|first4=Michael I.
|last5=Morton
|first5=John M.
|last6=Frost
|first6=Dennis
|last7=Poe
|first7=Aaron J.
|s2cid=54021734
|doi-access=free
}}</ref>
| 3.0 (± 0.4 SE) wolverines/1,000 km<sup>2</sup><ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
| [[Cook Inlet|Turnagain Arm and the Kenai Mountains]]<ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
| 2004<ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
| –<ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
|-
| United States – [[Rocky Mountains]]<ref name="schwartz">{{cite journal |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/rmrs_2009_schwartz_m001.pdf |title=Wolverine gene flow across a narrow climatic niche |access-date=14 October 2010 |author1=Schwartz, Michael K. |author2=Copeland, Jeffrey P. |author3=Anderson, Neil J. |author4=Squires, John R. |author5=Inman, Robert M. |author6=McKelvey, Kevin S. |author7=Pilgrim, Kristy L. |author8=Waits, Lisette P. |author9=Cushman, Samuel A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |journal=Ecology |volume=90 |issue=11 |pages=3222–32 |publisher=Ecological Society of America |doi=10.1890/08-1287.1 |pmid=19967877 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629140808/http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/rmrs_2009_schwartz_m001.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2011}}</ref>
| 28–52<ref name="schwartz"/>
| [[Montana]], [[Idaho]], [[Wyoming]]<ref name="schwartz"/>
| 1989–2020<ref name="schwartz"/><ref>{{cite web|date=2021-01-13|title=Wolverine Spotted in Yellowstone|url=https://cowboystatedaily.com/2021/01/13/wolverine-spotted-in-yellowstone/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=Cowboy State Daily|language=en-US}}</ref>
| Unknown<ref name="schwartz"/>
|-
| United States – California<ref name="dfg.ca.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/wolverine/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118024015/http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/wolverine/ |archive-date=18 January 2015 |title=Wolverines in California – California Department of Fish and Game |publisher=Dfg.ca.gov |access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>
| 3<ref name="dfg.ca.gov"/>
| [[Tahoe National Forest]]<ref name="dfg.ca.gov"/>
| 2008<ref name="dfg.ca.gov"/>
| Unknown<ref name="dfg.ca.gov"/>
|-
| Canada – [[Yukon]]
| 9.7 (± 0.6 SE) wolverines/1,000 km<sup>2</sup><ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
| [[Old Crow Flats]]<ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
| 2004<ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
| –<ref name="bioone-wf-egw"/>
|-
| Canada – [[Ontario]]<ref name="wf-ontario-pr">{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/research/Ontario%20Wolverine%20Project%20Report_July_04.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104212030/http://www.wolverinefoundation.org/research/Ontario%20Wolverine%20Project%20Report_July_04.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2010 | title=Boreal Wolverine: A Focal Species for Land Use planning in Ontario's Northern Boreal Forest – Project Report |access-date=26 January 2008 |author1=Magoun, Audrey |author2=Dawson, Neil |author3=Lipsett-Moore, Geoff |author4=Ray, Justina C. |year=2004 |work=The Wolverine Foundation, Inc., Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Parks, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)/University of Toronto }}</ref>
| Unclear<ref name="wf-ontario-pr"/>
| [[Sioux Lookout|Red Lake – Sioux Lookout to Fort Severn]] – Peawanuck<ref name="wf-ontario-pr"/>
| 2004<ref name="wf-ontario-pr"/>
| Stable to expanding<ref name="wf-ontario-pr"/>
|-
| Canada – overall<ref name="gg-sr">
{{cite web
|url=http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CW69-14-329-2003E.pdf
|title=COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Wolverine (''Gulo gulo'') – Eastern Population Western Population in Canada
|access-date=26 January 2008
|author=Slough, Brian |date=May 2003
|work=COSEWIC (committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada) 2003. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the wolverine Gulo gulo in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 41 pp.
|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
| 15,000–19,000<ref name="gg-sr"/>
| Overall<ref name="gg-sr"/>
| –<ref name="gg-sr"/>
| Stable<ref name="gg-sr"/>
|}
===In captivity===
[[File:Wolverine, Kristiansand Zoo.jpg|thumb|Captive at the Kristiansand Zoo, Norway]]
Around a hundred wolverines are held in zoos across North America and Europe, and they have been bred in captivity, but only with difficulty and high infant mortality.<ref name="ISIS">
{{cite web
|url=http://app.isis.org/abstracts/Abs75307.asp
|title=''Gulo gulo'' – Wolverine
|access-date=9 May 2010
|date=May 2010
|publisher=International Species Identification System}}</ref>
==Human interactions==
[[File:Bone pendant decorated with an engraved drawing of a wolverineDSCF6967.jpg|thumb|The [[Wolverine pendant of Les Eyzies]], <!-- date can't be correct about 10,500 BC,--> when wolverines were still found in southern France]]
[[File:Kittilä.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright|A wolverine in the coat of arms of the [[Kittilä|Kittilä municipality]]]]
Many North American cities, [[sports team]]s, and organizations use the wolverine as a mascot. For example, the US state of [[Michigan]] is, by tradition, known as "the Wolverine State", and the [[University of Michigan]] takes the animal as its mascot. There have also been professional [[Detroit Wolverines|baseball]] and [[Detroit (1920s NFL teams)|football]] clubs called the "Wolverines". The association is well and long established: for example, many Detroiters volunteered to fight during the [[American Civil War]] and [[George Armstrong Custer]], who led the [[Michigan Brigade]], called them the "Wolverines". The origins of this association are obscure; it may derive from a busy trade in wolverine furs in [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan|Sault Ste. Marie]] in the 18th century or may recall a disparagement intended to compare early settlers in Michigan with the vicious mammal. Wolverines are, however, extremely rare in Michigan. A sighting in February 2004 near [[Ubly, Michigan|Ubly]] was the first confirmed sighting in Michigan in 200 years.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite news| title = First Michigan wolverine spotted in 200 years| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4374309| author = Runk, David| date = 25 February 2004| agency = Associated Press| access-date = 23 December 2008}}</ref> The animal was found dead in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Dawson |date=15 March 2010 |title=Only known wolverine in the Michigan wild dies |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20100315/NEWS06/100315027/1318/Only-wolverine-in-Mich.-wild-dies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706133328/http://www.freep.com/article/20100315/NEWS06/100315027/1318/Only-wolverine-in-Mich.-wild-dies |archive-date=6 July 2015}}</ref>
The [[Marvel Comics]] superhero [[Wolverine (character)|James "Logan" Howlett]] was given the nickname "Wolverine" while [[cage fight]]ing because of his skill, short stature, keen animal senses, ferocity, and most notably, claws that retract from both sets of knuckles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.marvel.com/comics/guides/2233/the_history_of_wolverine |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.marvel.com|title=The History of Wolverine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marvel.com/characters/wolverine-logan/in-comics|title=Wolverine: In Comics, Full Report|website=MARVEL|access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref>
The wolverine is prevalent in stories and oral history from various [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian tribes]] and figures prominently in the mythology of the [[Innu]] people of eastern [[Quebec]] and [[Labrador]].<ref>Swann, Brian, editor. (2005). ''Algonquian Spirit: Contemporary Translations of the Algonquian Literatures of North America.'' Bison Books. {{ISBN|978-0803293380}}</ref> The wolverine is known as Kuekuatsheu, a conniving trickster who created the world. The story of the formation of the Innu world begins long ago when Kuekuatsheu built a big boat similar to [[Noah's Ark]] and put all the various animal species in it. There was a great deal of rain, and the land was flooded. Kuekuatsheu told a [[mink]] to [[Creation myth#earth-diver|dive into the water]] to retrieve some mud and rocks which he mixed together to create an island, which is the world that is presently inhabited along with all the animals.<ref name="Armitage">{{cite journal | last = Armitage| first = Peter | title = Religious ideology among the Innu of eastern Quebec and Labrador | journal = Religiologiques | volume = 6 | year = 1992 | url = http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/religio/no6/armit.pdf | access-date = 29 June 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070101115643/http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/religio/no6/armit.pdf |archive-date = 1 January 2007}}</ref> Many tales of Kuekuatsheu are often humorous and irreverent and include crude references to bodily functions.<ref>Millman, Lawrence. (1993). ''Wolverine Creates the World: Labrador Indian Tales.'' Capra Press. {{ISBN|978-0884963639}}</ref> Some Northeastern tribes, such as the [[Miꞌkmaq]] and [[Passamaquoddy]], refer to the wolverine as Lox, who usually appears in tales as a trickster and thief (although generally more dangerous than its Innu counterpart) and is often depicted as a companion to the [[wolf]].<ref>Lynch, Patricia Ann and Jeremy Roberts. (2010). ''Native American Mythology A to Z.'' Chelsea House Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1604138948}}</ref> Similarly, the [[Dené]], a group of the [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]]-speaking natives of northwestern Canada, have many stories of the wolverine as a trickster and cultural transformer much like the [[coyote]] in the [[Navajo]] tradition or [[raven]] in [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Northwest Coast]] traditions.<ref>Moore, Patrick and Angela Wheelock. (1990). ''Wolverine Myths and Visions: Dene Traditions from Northern Alberta''. University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|978-0803281615}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=yes|commonscat=yes}}
* [http://www.lcie.org/Large-carnivores/Wolverine Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe: Wolverine]: scientific articles about wolverines
<!-- This could probably be used as source, but not as external link: [http://timberjay.com/current.php?article=4275 March 2008 sighting near Ely, Mn]-->
* [http://www.rmrs.nau.edu/wildlife/forest_carnivores/wolverine/ Forest Service Wolverine research]
* Patsy, V. and M. Sygo (2009). [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Gulo_gulo.html ''Gulo gulo''] Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. <small>Accessed 8 September 2012</small>.
{{Carnivora|M.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q14334}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Guloninae]]
[[Category:Arctic land animals]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Carnivorans of Europe]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Holarctic realm]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Canada]]
[[Category:Mammals of Europe]]
[[Category:Mammals of the Arctic]]
[[Category:Mammals of the United States]]
[[Category:Scavengers]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Habitats Directive species]]
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