Wolverine - Gulo gulo

Size
Males 12-18 kg
Females 8-13 kg

Reproduction
Mating: June - August
Birth: January - March
Litter size: 1-5, normally 2-3

Diet
Wide range of species from reindeer to rodents. Much food comes from scavenging, but can kill domestic sheep and semi-domestic reindeer.

Social organisation
Solitary and territorial - little overlap with members of same sex.

Home ranges
Vary from 100 to 500 km2 for males and 100 to 200 km2 for females.


Wolverine - Gulo gulo. Photo © Arild Landa/NINA

Threats: 

(1) Depredation on domestic sheep in Norway and semi-domestic reindeer in Norway, Sweden and Finland leads to a low tolerance for wolverines.

(2) Illegal killing is widespread in all countries, and harvest quotas in Norway are very high.

Distribution:

Distribution maps available from Data Dryad

Status:

1,000 to 1,250 in Europe (of which 600 to 800 are in EU)
2 populations

Population name

Countries

Size

(2012-2016)

Trend

Scandinavian

Norway, Sweden

800 - 1000

Fluctuating, recently decreasing

Karelian

Finland

200 - 250

Slowly increasing

 

Link - IUCN Red List Assessment for wolverines in Europe