The wolverines that float on snow

Eight-year tracking programme reveals more about mysterious species

December 2011: Born during February in snow-caves at 9,000 feet on the north slope of craggy peaks in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone's wolverines are tough.

Now experts at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) are revealing more about this mysterious and awe-inspiring species.

Eight years of capturing and radio-tracking the elusive wolverine revealed that adults live year-round in the high mountains, near the alpine tree-line, and inhabit some of the west's most remote and rugged terrain. Amazingly, the home range of an individual male can more than 500 square miles.

The winter endurance athletes of the animal world
‘Not only do they use an area even larger than a grizzly bear does,' said Kurt Alt, a coauthor with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, ‘they cover their territory on a fairly regular basis to scent mark it and defend it from other wolverines.'

The wolverine's capability for movement is stunning. Their large feet allow them to float on top of deep snow, and they were documented making winter traverses from one side of the massive Teton Range in Wyoming to the other in just a few hours.

‘They are the winter endurance athletes of the animal world,' said Steve Cain of the National Park Service. ‘We were impressed by their constant movements across large areas of snow-covered and incredibly rugged terrain.'

But covering this terrain comes with its risks, as two of the radio-collared wolverines were killed in avalanches.

One wolverine travelled more than 500 miles
Another wolverine travelled more than 500 miles from near Grand Teton National Park in northwest Wyoming to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. This was the first documented wolverine in Colorado in almost a century. Other young wolverines regularly moved 100 miles or more searching for their own territory.

While bears are hibernating and most ungulates and their predators have moved to low elevation wintering ranges, the wolverine patrols a vast, frozen territory, looking for scraps of meat that they cache under boulders and snow.'

‘We learned that wolverines are adapted to eke out a living in very harsh conditions,' said Robert Inman, conservationist for the WCS. ‘As a result, they naturally exist in low numbers and reproduce slowly.'

The wolverine's reputation as a fierce competitor was also affirmed during the study. One individual challenged a bear probably ten times his size over an elk carcass.


http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wolverine-yellowstone.html