PicoBlog

At this point in my research for my book on the Cascades, I am working on wolverines and last week got sucked into a deep dive on the deep history about the animals. In that light, I have decided to take a slightly different tack with this newsletter and let those early writer tell their tales about wolverines. You’ll see that much of this is a mix of malarkey, opinion, and hearsay, with a few facts tossed in. The numbers after quotes correspond to the reference list at the bottom of the newsletter.

The earliest accessible writing (1555) that mentions wolverines is A Compendious History of the Goths, Swedes, and Vandals and Other Northern Nations by Swedish seller of indulgences Olaus Magnus. Translated from Latin into English in 1658, it includes arguably the most legendary bit of natural history about the animals.

“Wherefore this Creature is the most voracious; for, when he finds a carcasse, he devours so much, that his body, by over-much meat, is stretched like a Drum, and finding a streight (narrow) passage between Trees, he presseth between them, that he may discharge his body by violence; and being thus emptied, he returns to the carcasse, and fills himself top full.”

Wow, talk about an effective evacuatant, but woe be to the wolverine who lives in a treeless habitat or cannot find just the right pair of perfectly placed purgative pines. Fortunately, the good clergyman was a splendid artist and provided a memorable picture of a post-meal wolverine exploiting his alimentary assets.

Wolverine – Perhaps related to wolf (which means hunter) but “of unknown origin” (Oxford English Dictionary)

Gulo gulo – “[Latin], from gula, a throat, given on account of its supposed gluttony.” (14)

Glutton (in Europe) – “For its insatiable appetite” (1)

Vielfrass (German) – “Which means a gormandizer, a glutton.” (9)

Ommeethatees (Cree) – “Apparently means ‘one who likes to steal,’” which through derivation led to “quickehatch from the English residents of Hudson Bay and carcajou of French Canada.” (15)

Skunk-bear (USA) – “The devil himself masqueradin’ as an anermile of the bear tribe.” (13)

Beaver-Eater (USA) - “For it watches those animals as they come out of their houses, and sometimes breaks into their habitations, and devours them.” (5)

Vulture of the quadrupeds – Because they are “much more voracious than any of our carnivorous animals.” (6)

“If a bad name be sufficient excuse for hanging a dog, what should be the fate of that animal whose evil names outnumber his digits? (12)

It seems rather hypocritical for we humans, who are known to be gluttons, to castigate another animal for their eating habits, which pale in comparison to our abilities to overstuff ourselves. - DBW

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“All substances in his world are by him divided into two lists—food and rubbish.” (14)

“The wolverine is very partial to a diet of game birds and should be shot…for his high crimes in this regard.” (13)

“The Wolverene is a carnivorous animal, which feeds chiefly upon the carcasses of beasts that have been killed by accident….It also feeds on meadow mice, marmots, other rodentia and occasionally on disabled quadrupeds of a larger size.” (7)

“The Wolverine does none of these [store food or hibernate], but bravely faces and fights King Jack Frost, with absolute reliance on his own rare gifts as a hunter.” (14)

“We are informed that they climb into trees in the neighborhood of herds of deer and carry along with them a considerable quantity of a kind of moss to which the deer are partial. As soon as any of the herd happens to approach the tree, the glutton throws down the moss. If the deer stop to eat it, the Glutton instantly darts upon its back, and, after fixing himself firmly between the horns, tears out its eyes.” (11)

Wolverines are both predators and scavengers with a seasonally varied diet. They do cache food throughout the year but they neither lure deer with moss nor leap from trees on to their backs. We have no clue as to how they face and fight King Jack Frost, except knowing that they are able to survive winter without hibernating. - DBW

“He has a singular habit…he sits on his haunches, and shades his eyes with one of his forepaws, just as a human being would do in scrutinizing a dim or distant object.” (10)

“By discharging the contents of two secretory organs, it emitted a most insupportable stench. These secretory vessels are about the size of a walnut, and discharge a fluid of yellowish-brown colour, and of the consistence of honey, by the rectum, when hard pressed by its enemies.” (8)

“When she is with her young…she is a tigress of ferocity, absolutely fearless, and so strong and quick that man, even armed with a gun, is taking risks if he comes near. A mother Bear may attack you; a mother Wolverine certainly will.” (14)

“Search revealed the animal’s den beneath a great fallen cedar where a cavity had been hollowed out and evidently used by a pair of the animals for several years. The ground about the den was littered with bones, fur, hair, feathers of birds and quadrupeds that had been devoured.” (13)

“Nothing delights a wolverine more than to tear a valuable marten to pieces, or to mess all over your traps, setting them off and dragging them some distance away if they aren’t securely fastened.” (14)

Wolverines do produce a pungent musk and do give birth in dens, which may be a cavity but are more often associated with snow. Wolverines are not known for shading their eyes; most wear a handsome beret to avoid the sun….okay, I made that last bit up. - DBW

“It is much abroad in the winter, and track of its journey in a single night may be often traced for many miles.” (7)

“But Carcajou is a wide ranger. Not a little scrap of ground he craves on this broad continent, but a European kingdom.” (14)

In Idaho, wolverines home ranges range from 150 sq. mi. (female) to 610 sq. mi (male), not exactly a European kingdom but astonishingly big. - DBW

“In the state of nature, he suffers men to approach him without exhibiting the least signs of fear.” (11)

“According to some naturalists a man isn’t safe in the woods where the animal roams at will.” (14)

“The wolverine is the black sheep in Dame Nature’s big family.” (14)

“If some patriotically inclined sportsman were to get up a voting contest to decide upon the most worthless and at the same time the most diabolically cunning animal on earth I should have to squander all my money on buying votes for the wolverine.” (13)

I have long found it disturbing how people can make such disparaging comments about animals (as well as other people) who are simply doing what they (and we) do—trying to survive in a very challenging world. I am also astonished at the self-centeredness of people who think that animals such as wolverines have some vendetta against them and take out that vengeance via personal attacks, such as destroying a trapper’s traps or defiling one’s cabin. It’s not about us. And, finally, such negative comments about wolverines serve primarily one purpose, to denigrate the animal, making it easier to justify killing them.

Yes, wolverines sometimes wreak havoc on our best laid plans, or cabins, but they are amazing animals, superbly adapted to live and thrive in some of the harshest environments on Earth. And, here’s a word for you, chionphile, or snow loving, in reference to animals highly adapted to snow. - DBW

Just a quick follow up to my previous newsletter asking for your support to help me keep writing them. If you are interested in a paid subscription, that would be outstanding.

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