![]() Most dens that have been found consist of a complex of snow tunnels associated with boulders or rocks. Pregnant females build snow-dens for giving birth and nursing. Because of small litter size and high mortality of kits and young, female wolverines rarely raise more than one young in their lifetime that survives to raise its own young. Reproduction entails many risks, and like many other long-lived wild animals, many wolverines don’t breed or raise young in years when food supplies are low. It is an effective way of reproducing in environments with limited and unpredictable resources. The mechanism of delayed implantation allows wolverines to have young when food is most abundant and to adjust the size of the litter to the availability of food. The egg is fertilized after mating, but development is paused in the uterus before implanting four to six months later. Reproduction is accomplished using delayed implantation. Both males and females may remate with other individuals during the breeding season and littermates may have different fathers. Males and females come together for a few days during the summer to mate. Wolverines are active year-round and are usually solitary animals. However, more often than killing, wolverines will scavenge carcasses of animals killed by other predators, drag them away from the kill sites, and cache them for later use. They eat smaller mammals such as ground squirrels and rodents when they can capture them and are capable of capturing and killing prey that is much larger than themselves such as a moose or caribou. Wolverines rely on a diversity of prey and they will eat just about any type of meat that they can find or kill. They have strong teeth and well-developed muscles in their head, neck, and shoulders. Wolverines are built to rip into and feed on frozen flesh and bone. They make their living by being very efficient scavengers. Wolverines are powerful, aggressive, territorial, and tenacious. However, wolverines more closely resemble small bears than martens or weasels. They have many physical characteristics typical of other mustelids: short legs, short ears, and well-developed anal glands. The family mustelidae makes up most of the order Carnivora (carnivores). Wolverines belong to the mustelidae family along with weasels, mink, marten, and otters. The name alone stirs up visions of northern wilderness. ![]() Remote camera traps are useful for collecting photos of reclusive animals, like wolverines. A scene from a camera trap near Riley Creek, in Denali.
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