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| A wolverine captured on camera in Tahoe National Forest near Truckee, California on Feb 27, 2016. |
The wolverine is a creature that personifies the harsh ruggedness of the frozen north. For centuries, it has garnered a fearsome, yet hated reputation among local human populations sharing its Arctic and sub-Arctic homeland. Universally regarded as vermin by fur trappers, it was indiscriminately shot on sight due to its habit of eating animals caught in traps during winter and fouling its human competitors' cabins with its strong scent. Please read below at the end of this article for more inforamtion on this remarkable animal.
The relentless persecution geared by uncontrolled trapping and poisoning campaigns decimated the wolverine population across most of the U.S by the early 20th century. Approximately 300 survive living in remote, fragmented groups at high elevations in the northern Rocky Mountains. Now, the wolverine faces a threat of completely different magnitude: climate change. This is seen as scientists warn of rising temperatures anticipated to reduce mountain snowpacks which wolverines depend on to make shelter to raise their young in coming decades.
In response to the scientists' warning, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service proposed giving threatened species protections which had been delayed due to more than twenty years of arguments over the risks of climate change and threats to the continuing survival of the wolverines. Officials wrote in the proposal that protections under the Endangered Species Act were required "due primarily to the ongoing and increasing impacts of climate change and associated habitat degradation and fragmentation."
I'm glad to hear that the federal government has recognized the threats various wild animals such as wolverines are facing due to climate change and decided to ensure full protection. Ever since the U.S came under the presidency of Donald Trump, little to no attention had been paid to the findings made by scientists and researchers on the impact of climate change on the wildlife. It should be understood that research and studies about climate change should be taken into serious consideration and acknowledgement irrespective of what political party is in power. There is no room for politics when it comes to science and research, especially with climate change and various environmental issues linked to it. I very much hope that strong and efficient measurements will be implemented in protecting the wolverines on the long run. This includes conducting awareness campaigns geared at educating the public about wolverines, how climate change affects them, and what can the public do to save them. I also think outlawing of winter recreational activities such as backcountry skiing and snowmobiling in areas rife with wolverine activity is essential. In addition, legal trapping is also something that needs to be looked into especially when there is an incident of a wolverine accidentally caught in a trap laid out to catch an unthreatened species.
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Some general infomation on wolverines: The wolverine, although a member of the weasel family, is powerful enough to command respect from other animals it shares its habitat with. Its size makes it capable of bringing down prey up to the size of a deer, making it an apex predator alongside wolves, bears, and wildcats. Incredibly, despite its relatively small size, the wolverine's fearless tenacity combined with brute strength, bone-crunching jaws, a thick hide, and an arsenal of strong-smelling stink glands, allows it to stand up against its stronger adversaries - often to the point of forcing them to abandon their kills. This ferocious nature has earned the wolverine a bad rap from its bipedal counterparts garnering it several nicknames like the devil bear, skunk bear, hyena of the north, and in Inuit language Kee-wa-har-kess or "the evil one." Perhaps the most popular moniker it was given is "glutton" due to the belief that it kills more than it eats. In reality, the wolverine is far from the verminous beast that plagued the imaginations of hunters and trappers from past centuries. It is a keystone species that plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance in the extreme north, and its "gluttonous" behavior is attributed to filling itself voraciously on carrion in winter and burying extra food to be eaten later.
