Despite their famous strength and resilience, Wolverines have seen drastic declines in their native habitats.
Few animals on this planet are as kick-ass and universally praised as wolverines. They can bring down prey animals three times their own size; they can make quick work climbing up snow-covered trees and cliffsides; their frost-resistant furry bodies can travel upwards of 30 miles in a single day in search of food, a mate, or new territories; they understand the importance of teamwork and mutuality, each species often following the same wolf tracks in search of carrion — the rotting corpses of previously deceased animals — left by wolfpacks.
You’ll soon meet our newest zoo resident, an almost 10-month-old male wolverine kit, recently arrived from ZooMontana! Wolverines were recently added to the Endangered Species List due to climate change; the precarious population left in the wild are limited to just a few states. pic.twitter.com/d4r0WBIBKZ
— San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (@sfzoo) December 5, 2023
Wolverines have no qual, quite literally. At the size of a medium-sized dog, these hibernating predators are the largest mustelids (think weasels, badgers, otters, etc.) known to science.
Unfortunately, due to habitat loss and illegal poaching, there are only an estimated 300 of these animals left in the entire contiguous U.S., with the vast majority of these individuals inhabiting the states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington. (Thankfully, their numbers are stable in Northern Canada and Alaska.)
America’s wolverines also are their separate subspecies recognized by science — the American wolverine (Gulo gulo luscus) — and are different from their abundant Eurasian sister subspecies (Gulo gulo gulo). However, there’s debate amongst biologists that there may be as many as four North American subspecies of wolverine, which would, by proxy, make the continent’s dwindling population of wolverines even more at risk of extinction (because science doesn’t currently recognize the existence of certain subspecies that might already be heading to genetic destitution).
All of this is to say that wolverines are fascinating, enchanting, majestic creatures that deserve both our attention and safekeeping. For us lucky San Franciscans, we’ll soon have the chance to see one of these infamously introverted animals on display at the San Francisco Zoo.
“You’ll soon meet our newest zoo resident, an almost 10-month-old male wolverine kit,” reads a post on X from the zoological institution. The yet-named youngster came the way of Zoo Montana and represents a recent addition to the Endangered Species List. Why were they added? Because of an all too common cocktail of ecological pressure; the climate crisis is one of them.
“The precarious population left in the wild [is] limited to just a few states,” continues the post.
TBD on what name the lil’ bubba will bestow or where exactly he’ll be on display, but rest assured we’ll be smitten with him and our eyes glued to his Marvel Comic-inspiring peculiarities.
Feature image: Courtesy of Flickr via Mathias Appel
