Simple steps to keep wolverines safe when you head into the backcountry this winter.
Wolverines may be known for their toughness and tenacity, but they are actually highly sensitive animals. Females usually only birth kits every other year, and these kits have low survival rates. This means that any disturbance during denning (while kits are young) can have serious consequences for a species that is already in decline.
Wolverines face many threats, and backcountry recreation is one of them. But that doesn’t mean you need to stop ski-touring or snowmobiling altogether! By familiarizing yourself with certain wolverine signs and making simple changes to your routine, you can help safeguard this endangered species.
Timing is the most important piece here. Wolverine kits are born around early February in a high-altitude mountain den — typically under a rock buried in snow. During this early period of their lives, kits are very helpless; it takes several months before they’re capable of following their mother around.
If a den is disturbed by people recreating in the backcountry, it is common for a wolverine mother to abandon the den, or move her kits to a makeshift den she feels is more secure. This is a dangerous undertaking, as it requires her to leave the kits for long periods of time during which they are vulnerable to predation. It also means leaving behind critical food supplies; before kits are born, wolverine mothers prepare stashes of frozen food near their dens so they don’t have to leave their kits for long to stock up.
So, how can you help wolverines when you’re in the backcountry?
For such a sensitive species, disturbances from backcountry recreation can be, and often are, deadly. And while backcountry recreation is just one of the many threats to wolverine survival, it’s also one of the easiest threats for us to start rectifying right away.
First, you need to learn how to identify wolverines and their dens! If you determine that a wolverine is denning in an area, you can take care to avoid it in the critical window when mothers are preparing and caring for their young: from January to May.
1. Know how to identify a wolverine
- Size: medium-sized dog (15-40 lbs)
- Bear-like face, with long fur and a bushy tail
- Typically dark brown with a lighter, thick lateral stripe
- Track size is about the size of the palm of your hand
- Prints show five toes with nails (most mammal prints only have four)
Wolverine gate is in a diagonal pattern
Wolverine print—note the distinctive five toes2. Learn how to recognize a wolverine den
- A den site is a hole in the snow leading to a snow tunnel or cave (usually ending in a large boulder or fallen tree)
- Tracks will be going in and out (unless it’s recently snowed)
- Often found near and below treeline, and near avalanche paths or boulder fields
Wolverine den in a boulder field
Wolverine den near an avalanche path
Forest den ending in a fallen tree
Wolverine den in a forest3. Avoid denning areas from January to mid-May
If you see evidence of wolverines, especially signs of denning or food stores, please recreate in another area. Wolverine density is extremely low, with only two every 1000 km2, so consider yourself lucky and know there are plenty of other places in which you can play!
4. Remain on pre-existing, higher-use tracks where possible
If we move predictably, wolverines can adapt their routines to avoid us. ‘Predictable’ winter recreation includes activities that repeatedly use the same trails, roads or tracks. Unpredictable activities are activities that don’t have consistent use patterns — these are much harder on wolverines.
If you see wolverine tracks, don’t follow them to see where they go, as you risk disturbing a den.
Take a photo of the individual track and the track pattern, record your location (ideally your latitude and longitude), note the time of day, and submit to http://www.wolverinewatch.org.
Together, we can choose to recreate in ways that keep wolverines safe.