They have been protected by law for more than two decades, but despite these efforts, it is still one of the most endangered animals in the country. Canis lupus signatus, the scientific name for the Iberian wolf, is a subspecies of the grey wolf and a major predator on the Iberian Peninsula. Conservationists are helping farmers and locals coexist with the Iberian wolf as they tap the animal’s potential for nature tourism, but an expert reports that the main challenge is changing people’s mindset to ‘live wolves are far more valuable than dead ones’.


But Wolverines?

When you say ‘Wolverine’, it conjures up an image of the superhero from the American Marvel comic books - a mutant with animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, a powerful regenerative ability, a skeleton reinforced with the unbreakable fictional metal adamantium, armed with three retractable claws in each hand.

But wolverines are a real animal, more related to the mink and weasel than a wolf, and are the largest terrestrial member of the family Mustelidae. Its Latin name is Gulo gulo, meaning ‘glutton.’ This is likely because wolverines live in vast territories where food is scarce, and when they find something edible, they will gorge themselves, returning to a carcass many times until it’s been picked clean.


Where do they hang out?

You won’t find any of these creatures in Portugal as they are native to the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia. They prefer habitats undisturbed by humans, including grasslands, forests, and tundra, and in the northern part of their range, they occur within a wide variety of arctic, subarctic, and alpine habitats.


Fierce and Furry

Wolverines are quite big, and resemble a small squat bear, with adults around the size of a medium-sized dog. Their body length is up to 109 cm, standing around 45 cm at the shoulder; with a thick furry tail. Weight ranges usually from 11–18 kg in males, and 8–12 kg in females. They may not be huge, but are noted for their strength, cunning, fearlessness, and voracity, and the species is renowned for its ability to face down and fight larger predators that are more than twice its size. These ferocious little beasts are the bodybuilders of the weasel world, and pack enough power to take down animals many times their size – including humans.

Their long fur is generally dark brown to black with a creamy white to gold stripe running from each shoulder to the base of the tail, often with a white patch on the neck and chest. It has short legs, short ears, and a broad flat head. Like humans and bears, wolverines walk on the soles of their feet, called semiplantigrade posture. They are also like skunks, in that they have anal glands that secrete an unpleasant-smelling fluid for marking territory or as a ‘perfume’ to attract mates!

Credits: envato elements;

They are hunters and will follow traplines to cabins out in the wilds, and eat or carry off food stocks, and their presence will be noted by their calling card smell left behind, which will stink out a cabin. They prey on all manner of small game, and even larger ones such as moose, deer, sheep, and other livestock. Some wolverines have been observed sparring with wolves and small bears over food or territory. Wolves, pumas, golden eagles, and grizzly bears prey on Wolverine young, with their fur valued by hunters as trimming for parkas because frost and frozen breath can easily be brushed off the smooth hairs.


Conservation status

Although the IUCN classifies them as a species of least concern, they are sparse in Europe as hunting, trapping, and poisoning are all designed to keep these animals away from livestock. Wolverines appear to be dependent on areas of deep snow, and scientists studying North American wolverines have observed significant population declines in regions with sharp decreases in snowpack. Carcasses of deer, elk, etc, are more plentiful in such conditions, and rodents - a frequent prey of wolverines found tunnelling underneath deep snow - are more abundant than in snow-free conditions.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan