Wolverines!

[Rick Dreher]

Okay, "wolverine" spotted in the Sierra, north of Lake Tahoe.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/761071.html

Here's hoping this is the beginning of a wolverine wave, driving all the pest bears to Nevada. A win-win :-)

(Actually, if a "natural" occurrence and evidence of a self-sustaining population, this would be a wonderful discovery. California wolverine is extremely rare, limited to the remote northwest portion of the state and steer well clear of what populated areas there are.)

[ROBERT TANGEN]

Re: "…driving all the pest bears to Nevada. A win-win :-)" Please don't send any more bears to those of us in Nevada. Just the other day I was telling my young nephew how this old man (me) almost bumped into a very large black bear. (I lied and told him it was a giant grizzly bear.) “I was walking in the Nevada woods,” I said, “when I turned a corner and YIIIKES ! ! there was a giant grizzly just 3 feet in front of me! I’m sorry, but I messed my pants.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed about that,” the nephew said. “Just about everybody who comes around a corner and onto a grizzly would mess their pants.”
“I didn’t mess my pants back then! I messed them just now, when I went, YIIIKES!!”

[Christopher Chupka]

So is a bear cannister gonna stop a wolverine. Are they more of a threat than a bear. When I say threat I do not mean that they should be killed off, I mean will they be a more determined critter to get a backpackers food.

[Mark Bishop]

" So is a bear cannister gonna stop a wolverine"

I can't imagine any animal being able to break into a canister. I have a Garcia BRFC and it's made from very rugged stuff – I believe most of the other brands are similar.

[Dave T]

.

[Steven Evans]

I wasn't really sure what one looked liked – so I googled it. They look pretty cool/crazy. Are they any kind of threat to hikers – safety, food, territorial? A quick read lead me to believe they are very timid, but those claws are mighty big.
They should base some sort of superhero character on one, I think it would go over well…

[Rick Dreher]

What little I know comes from working on biological assessments for scattered rural construction projects in northwestern California. There, large uninterrupted stands of old-growth forest are considered wolverine habitat, but evidence of their presence (tracks, burrows, evidence of feeding, etc.) is very rare and sightings even more so. Evidently, they're completely solitary other than during a very brief mating season (understandable, given their generally antisocial nature) and have huge solo territories (males up to 240 sq mi, females 50-100 sq mi). Even a healthy population will be very sparsely distributed.

Because of their shyness regarding humans and their sparse distribution, I'll go out on a limb and say they're no threat to backpackers, unless wearing an Ohio State jersey.

Considering I've only recently spotted mountain lion tracks after decades of hiking, my hopes of ever spying a wolverine are scant. But the knowledge that I *could* will make the woods a more interesting place than before. From now on, every oversided skunk is going to be a wolverine!

[Ryan Teale]

Wolverines are cool! The latest Patagonia catalogue had a piece on tracking wolverines and being shocked at the size of their range. They collared one in Glacier NP and found it summited one of the peaks and then continued on down and well up in to Canada. Should be on the website too.

[baz john]

super cool… my girlfriend and I saw one while on a trip in the stein valley BC. took a minute or two to be sure what it was. it was at a distance of maybe 150yds missioning through a boulder field. we watched it through binoculars for maybe half an hour. likely i'll never see another. very special to see such an elusive creature. an honour really.

[Holubar D]

Wolverines have one of the largest territories of any North American mammal. 200 Sq mi. is not uncommon. Your chances of lightning strike are much higher than a wolverine encounter. They are very rare.

Wolverines can't break into a bear canister, but they might drag one several miles away before they give up. Same thing for bears though, they may not get your food, but they’ll sure ‘hide’ it for you. Wolverines are immensely strong. They have been seen dragging caribou for almost a mile, 60lb critter dragging a 250lb one, pretty impressive.

Being the largest member of the weasel family, they can be extremely ferocious. However, they are not going to charge you if surprised, like a bear or large ungulate might do. Their ferocity is usually directed towards wolves, bears and eagles. This would be to secure their kill, or to steal food from said animals.

Wolverines, lions, tigers and bears, {Oh my}, are nothing compared to biting dogs and their idiot non-leash using owners. I’ve had far, far more dangerous encounters with dogs than with any wild animal, and I live in Alaska where I’m not at the top of the food chain.

At least wolverines don’t go running by me, off leash, on a tight trail next to cliffs, almost knocking me over the edge, while their clueless owners are chatting on their cell phones.
Come to think of it, wolverines don’t crap on the trail and smell up the forest for the rest of the summer either.

I like wolverines.

[Rick Dreher]

Today's paper notes the Sierra wolverine was photographed again last week, so at the very least we're one of his/her stops on that big wolverine orbit. Here's hoping there's more than just one.

In other top-of-the-foodchain news, the Monterey Aquarium has been tracking a great white shark they released fitted with a radio, and it's just rounded the tip of Baja.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/great-white-shark-speeds-south/2008/03/24/1206207007449.html

Anybody kayaking the Sea of Cortez might take note, he's probably hungry.

[P. P.]

"In other top-of-the-foodchain news, the Monterey Aquarium has been tracking a great white shark they released fitted with a radio, and it's just rounded the tip of Baja.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/great-white-shark-speeds-south/2008/03/24/1206207007449.html

Anybody kayaking the Sea of Cortez might take note, he's probably hungry."

Just got back last night from kayaking and camping on the Sea of Cortez and we must have just missed him. All we've ever seen besides the whales and dolphins are hammerheads.

As far as wolverines go, I like that they are out there but I don't want one as a neighbor.
We had one move onto our property a few years ago and every single other living creature (except us) moved out. No deer, no bears, no raccoons, no rabbits, no skunks, etc. for several months even though we think the wolverine was only on our land for approximately a week.
I called fish and game to report it and they advised me that they could and might come through a plate glass window if they wanted to. Then they asked me to try and get video of it. I was within 5 feet the first sighting but on the other side of the window and did not react in time to get a photo. Neighbors stopped their car to look at it and it attacked their tires.
I'm not so sure that they wouldn't attack unprovoked. They're quite surly.

[Daniel Fosse]

Damn! I thought this was a thread about the movie Red Dawn. Terrible movie, yet one of my favorites.

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