The Wolverine (Gulo gulo), also spelled wolverene and referred to as the glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch (from East Cree, "kwiihkwahaacheew"), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae (only the giant otter and the sea otter are larger). It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. A solitary animal, it has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
The wolverine is found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest numbers in Northern Canada, the American state of Alaska, the mainland Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia. Its population has steadily declined since the 19th century owing to trapping, range reduction and habitat fragmentation. The wolverine is now essentially absent from the southern end of its European range.
Wolverines are known for being highly territorial with each other, having huge territories over more than 200 square miles. They're much smaller than the other carnivores they share their territory with, so they make up for it with a voracious temper and attitude. They can fight and steal food from larger predators like wolves, cougars, coyotes, and bears. There have even been reports of wolverines in the arctic apparently killing polar bears by grabbing on to their necks and biting their jugular vein in their throat. Wolverines are also smart and cunning predators. Despite these traits however wolverines are not invulnerable, and can still be killed and eaten by predators such as cougars, wolves and bears.
They have incredible endurance and can chase after faster prey like snowshoe hares, and marmots by tiring them out. They'll hunt smaller prey in the summer, but in the winter, the snow slows down larger prey like deer, elk, and caribou, so the wolverines switch to hunting them. Wolverines have huge paws that act like snowshoes, meaning they don't get slowed down by the snow. These huge paws and claws also help grip large prey. Wolverines can even take down prey like moose. Wolverines are great climbers, and will climb up into a tree, then jump down onto a back of a passing moose. They'll generally grab onto the neck, hold on for dear life and bite it until it's prey is dead.
Wolverines have a oily-waterproof coat, which helps them swim. The coat also helps keep frost from forming on their fur. Their furs unfortunately used to be highly prized by hunters for being soft and oily, which brought wolverines to near extinction. Fortunately, they've made a comeback and are at least concern.
Wolverines will often scavenge meat they find in the forest. They have a high metabolism like most mustelids, and often eat a lot of meat. In fact, the scientific name of the wolverine literally translates in Latin to "glutton". They have no problem eating frozen meat. Wolverines have one of the strongest bites of any mammal, and they'll even happily dine on bones. Their molar teeth are rotated 90 degrees, designed for ripping through frozen meat. They hide whatever they can't finish and cache it in the snow. They'll even spray it with a pungent odor to mark where it is for later, giving them the nickname, "skunk bear". Wolverines have a great sense of smell and can track the smell of meat for miles.