Wolverine

“ They knew and loved them all; they found ever-increasing enjoyment in the study of their shy ways and furtive occupations; they observed with delight the droll awkwardness of the moose calves, the impertinence and saucy speech of the jays, the humor of the black bear and the surly arrogance of the grizzly. They knew that superlative cunning of his wickedness, the wolverine; the stealth of the red fox; the ferociousness of the ermine whose brown skin, soon to be white, suggested only something silken and soft and tender instead of a fiendish cutthroat, terror of the Little People ”

“ Carefully looking over the rocks and through some underbrush, he was able to see, through a pocket telescope which he fortunately had with him, the busy wolverine still at work. Very interesting it was to watch him, even if it meant the destruction of all the meat. The wolverine is about as large as a first-class retriever dog. His legs, though short, are exceedingly muscular, and he has quite a bushy tail. These animals are very powerful, and in breaking into an Indian’s “cache” can remove logs and stones much larger and heavier than one man can lift. ”

“ There is no doubt that the wolverine is exceedingly wary and that it is a great mischief maker, but the fact that the animal is not well known, has led the nature writers to draw on their imaginations and these wonderful stories are the result. We hear of the animal decoying deer to its hiding place by dropping a bunch of moss for them to feed on, and then springing upon the unsuspecting animal from a nearby limb. We also read of the wolverine biting off the string of a set gun without discharging the arm, so that it could eat the bait without danger. ”

“ Wolverine The wolverine has an exceedingly bad reputation among all men, white or red, who make their living by trapping in the Far North. If one believed the stories of some of the older Indians, one would think that the animal had a superhuman intelligence added to a positive mania for destruction.
To look at, the Wolverine is not very formidable. I heard, one day, a white trapper describe him as an overgrown badger that could not grunt quite as well as a pig but could climb trees far more easily than a bear. ”

“ But the wolverine is a plucky animal when thus assailed, and he made a good fight for his hard-earned supper. In the meantime, the instant the wolves started, the Indians, who from their higher ground had seen the movements, also began to advance; and so, ere the wolves and wolverine had settled the matter as to the ownership of the dead beaver, a volley of bullets killed the wolves, while the wolverine turned and began climbing up the steep place of the hill where the boys were hid. ”

“ But as a good hunter is very observant, he is seldom fooled that way, for the wolverine, having very short legs, has difficulty in keeping both the chain and the trap from leaving tell-tale marks in the snow.
"Yes, my son, the wolverine is a very knowing brute, and if he thinks he may be trailed, he will sometimes—without the slightest sign of premeditation—jump sideways over a bush, a log, or a rock, in order to begin, out of sight of any trailer, a new trail; or he may make a great spring to gain a tree, and ascend it without even leaving the evidence of freshly fallen bark. ”

“ For a few seconds the ferocious beast clung to the ledge, then slipped again and landed at Noel's feet!
The wolverine is one of the most ferocious beasts to be met with anywhere. It is not unlike the bear in general make-up, but has a more pointed head and a bushy tail. It is said that, generally speaking, a wolverine will not eat anything else if it can get meat. ”

“ All have rather long bodies, short legs armed with strong, sharp claws, pointed heads, catlike teeth, and brains equal, if not superior, to any other carnivore. Among the terrestrial species the glutton of Europe and its analogue in Canada, the wolverine, are prominent. The wolverine is a large, shaggy, somewhat clumsy animal that seeks its prey mainly on the ground, but occasionally climbs to a low branch or an overhanging rock whence it may leap upon the backs of a deer or sheep. ”

“ Discarding the exaggeration which generally goes with all tales concerning the animal, there is no doubt that the Wolverine is very cunning and is inclined to be mischevious as far as traps and supplies are concerned. ”

“ Perhaps the most rare of all fur bearing animals, as well as the least known, is the wolverine. This animal belongs to the marten family and is the largest, strongest and most cunning of the genus; in fact, is claimed to be the most cunning and wary of all the furbearing animals, and among the trappers has an unenviable reputation. ”

“ The Wolverine is one of the typical animals of the far North. It has an unenviable reputation for being the greatest plague that the hunter knows. Its habit of following to destroy all traps for the sake of the bait is the prime cause of man's hatred, and its cleverness in eluding his efforts at retaliation give it still more importance. ”

“ Fearless, curious, gluttonous, wary, and suspicious, the mischief-maker and the freebooter and the criminal of the animal world, a scavenger to save the northland from pollution of carrion, and a scourge to destroy wounded, weaklings, and laggards—the wolverine has the nose of a fox, with long, uneven, tusk-like teeth that seem to be expressly made for tearing. The eyes are well set back, greenish, alert with almost human intelligence of the type that preys. ”

“ Tom and Jack, as we know, had already encountered the track of a wolverine. It was now Sandy’s turn to come across the funny, bear-like imprints of one of these destructive creatures.
“Whist!” he exclaimed, as he saw it, “no more animals in the traps the noo! A wolverine has a bigger appetite than a cormorant. They’re the real game hogs, all right.” ”

“ The youths did not think of attacking many of the dangerous brutes. They might have risked the issue with a small leopard which existed then, or faced the wildcat, but what they sought most was the wolverine, because it had fur so long and oddly marked, and because it was braver than other animals of its size and came more boldly to some bait of meat, affording opportunity for fine spear-throwing. ”

“ Each of them singled out two of the largest wolverines, and fired their guns at the same instant. An ear-splitting clamor succeeded, and as the brutes scampered away in the darkness two of their number were seen stretched out, quivering and dying.
The wolverine is an animal found in California which unites the characteristics of the bear, weasel, fox and wolf. It is sullen and ferocious, and one of the most troublesome of the wood-denizens. When first seen it is apt to be mistaken for a small bear, or rather heavy-looking wolf. ”

“ The Druid and the Angle and Jute and Saxon knew it, and it is known to-day in all northern Europe and Asia and America, in fact, in nearly all the northern temperate zone. The wolverine is something wonderful; it laughs at the ages; its bones, found side by side with those of the cave hyena, are the same as those found in its body as it exists to-day. It is an anomaly, an animal which does not advance nor retrograde. ”

“ Weeks later some women out snaring rabbits in a dense swampy place found the pack cached up among the branches of a great spruce tree. It was so completely hidden in the close branches that it was a wonder that they ever discovered it. The only clue they had was that a great wolverine came tumbling out of the tree and hurried away into the dense forest. The women, like the men, knew what clever animals these wolverines are to find out where venison or other game has been hid away until needed. ”

“ So the trapper, at last, thinking that there must be a human spirit in the body of the wolverine—and a very cunning and malicious one, too—gives it up, and goes into another part of the country, so far away that he is not likely to be followed. ”

“ The forest is the best home for these pretty creatures, though even there they have many enemies besides the hunter. The bear, the wolf, and the wolverine kill them. Their only means of defence lies in their fleetness of foot. The stag will defend himself with his strong horns; but the doe and her little fawn have no such weapons to guard themselves when attacked by beasts of prey. The Wolf is one of the greatest enemies they have."
"I hate wolves," said Lady Mary; "wolves can never be tamed, nurse." ”

“ Every other animal in the forests where it dwells prefers to give it the path rather than engage in struggle with it. When seized in a trap a wolverine offers a sturdy resistance. Even a famished wolf, to my personal knowledge, will stand and look at it, but not attempt to cope with it. In this particular instance, however, the wolf may have considered the predicament of the wolverine another means of strategy employed by that animal to entrap the wolf, and so deemed it wise to remain at a respectful distance. ”

“ Then we’ve black bears, but they don’t often attack men, though they are mortal fond of honey, and sheep, or pigs, or poultry, when they can catch them. The wolverine, is the most savage animal we’ve got, and as cunning as a fox. They can climb trees, and spring down on their prey. I’ve known a man try to catch one, and very nearly got caught himself. ”

“ The wolverine is a voracious animal, and also one with an inquisitive disposition. It feeds on grouse, the smaller rodents and foxes, which it digs from their burrows during the breeding-season; but want of activity renders it dependent for most of its food on dead carcases, which it frequently obtains by methods that have made it peculiarly obnoxious to the hunter and trapper. ”

“ The wolverine is extraordinarily powerful and possesses what at times appears to be a diabolical cunning and persistence. It frequently trails trappers along their trap lines, eating or destroying their catches and at times hiding their traps. It is a tireless wanderer, and the hunter or traveler in the northern wilds always has this marauder in mind and is put to the limit of his wits to provide caches for his provisions or other supplies which it can not despoil. ”

“ One of the most prominent characteristics of the wolverine is its propensity to steal and hide things, not merely food which it might afterwards need, or traps which it regards as enemies, but articles which cannot possibly have any interest except that of curiosity. ”

“ This excessive caution on the part of the little girl vastly amused Souwanas. Then he told them that Nanahboozhoo turned Gray Wolf into a dog and made him draw home his heavy load of meat.
CHAPTER XV. A Novel Race: the Wolverine and the Rock—How the Wolverine's Legs were Shortened—A Punishment for Conceit.
There was great excitement one morning among the children in the schoolroom when Mary came in with the word that some hunters with their dog sleds had called, and that they had with them a great wolverine which had been killed in the woods not very far away. ”

“ The claws of the animal are Page 200 long and almost white, forming a singular contrast to the jetty fur of the feet. So large are the feet of this animal, and so powerful the claws, that a mere look at them will tell the story of their death dealing qualities, a single stroke from one of them often being sufficient for a mortal wound. Although the wolverine is not as large as the bear, its foot prints in the snow are often mistaken for those of that creature, being nearly of the same size. ”

“ A wonderful instinct, so-called, again prompts the beavers to cover their houses each autumn with fresh mud—as late in the season as they can manage it—so that it may freeze hard and keep them secure against their foe, the wolverine, a creature about the size of our common badger, which is much about during the winter. Wolverines are said to do more damage to the fur trade in smaller animals than all the other creatures of prey put together. ”

“ For the last half hour the wolves and wolverines, which followed gently, and at a distance, their own [Pg 155] more rapid movements, have closed in upon them from behind, have formed the fatal circle, have noiselessly decreased it as much as possible, and at length come swiftly down upon the helpless creatures; each seizes his victim by the throat, the tranquil spot is ere long full of blood and carnage, and the echoes of the forest are awakened to the hellish yells of the savage brutes that thus devour their prey. ”

“ Of course, you never can tell what you might run across when you are going through the timber or up over the rocks on the mountains, but as a rule these animals will see, or hear, or smell you before you know they are around, and they'll just slip out of sight, and either get away as fast as they can, or else watch you to see what you are going to do. I remember that the only wolverine I have killed in a good many years was one that I saw traveling along over the rocks when I was up above timber-line one time waiting to try to kill a sheep. ”

“ The wolverine, or carcajou of the Canadian voyageurs, is a circumpolar species belonging to the northern forested areas of both continents. In North America it formerly ranged from the northern limit of trees south to New England and New York, and down the Rocky Mountains to Colorado, and down the Sierra Nevada to near Mount Whitney, California. It is a low, squat, heavy-bodied animal, with strong legs and feet armed with sharp claws, and is the largest and most formidable of the weasel family. ”

“ From 1897 to 1918 wolverines were occasionally reported from the park area, but there have been none recorded since 1933, when one was observed near the White River Ranger Station.
Known by a variety of common names ranging from glutton, carcajou, mountain devil, skunk bear, to maneater, the wolverine lives up to any or all of them. A member of the weasel family, it has somewhat the general build and habits of a small bear. Fierce and ready to fight anything that walks, it is a terrifying animal to face. Even such a huge animal as an elk is attacked without hesitation. ”