Wolverine Facts
Wolverine Facts
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| Interesting Wolverine Facts: |
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| Wolverines look like medium-sized dogs such as Beagle or Cocker Spaniel, but they are more muscular than dogs. They can reach 20 to 50 pounds of weight and length between 26 and 34 inches. Tail can be 7 to 10 inches long. |
| Wolverines have brownish to black fur with light stripes on its sides. Thick fur prevents animals from freezing. |
| Wolverines have powerful legs, large heads, round ears and short tail. Their feet have pads with sharp claws, which prevent slipping on the ice. |
| Wolverines are typical terrestrial animals, but they can also climb trees and swim when needed. |
| Wolverines are nocturnal (active at night) animals, which travel 15 to 20 miles each day in the search for food. They can pass even more (between 37 to 50 miles) when the food sources are scarce. When they find themselves in the region with prolonged day light, they can switch to a daily hunt. |
| Wolverines have poor eyesight, but their senses of hearing and smell are excellent, which help them find the prey more easily. |
| Wolverines are omnivores (they eat both meat and vegetation). During the summer season, when different types of plants, berries and roots are available, wolverine expands its normal diet with plants. Even during summer time, wolverine cannot survive without meat. They eat rabbits, mice, porcupines, squirrels, but they also hunt injured deer and caribou. |
| Wolverines also eat leftovers of dead animals, killed by wolves and bears. Due to their excellent sense of smell, they can detect carrion hidden under the snow after the avalanche. Wolverines will also dig snow if they sense the smell of the hibernating mammal. |
| Wolverines have special type of upper molar tooth, which is rotated for 90 degrees, allowing animal to tear apart the flesh of the prey quickly. |
| Wolverines are solitary animals, but they show friendly and playful behavior when they meet with other wolverines of the same family. |
| Wolverines are territorial animals who demand a lot of open space to roam. Male uses scent gland to mark the boundaries of his territory. Since they are polygamous (one male mates with more females), male usually share his territory with couple of females. |
| Since the substance secreted by their anal gland has very strong and unpleasant smell, wolverines are also known as "skunk bears". |
| Female gives birth to two to three babies each year, usually in the late winter or early spring. Young wolverines (kits) are born in the underground den. |
| Young wolverines stay with their mother until they reach the age of two years. At that time wolverines become sexually mature. |
| Average lifespan of the wolverines in the wild is between 7 and 12 years. |
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