Biologist believes elusive wolverines may still live on Vancouver Island
By Judith Lavoie
Somewhere in the mountainous wilds of Vancouver Island there may be a few remaining wolverines, belonging to a unique sub-species, believes Montana-based wildlife biologist Doug Chadwick.
Officially, the gulo gulo Vancouverensis — defined as the gluttonous glutton wolverine from Vancouver Island — almost disappeared in the 1960s and the last known sighting was in 1992, leading scientists to believe the species had been extirpated from the Island.
"But there may still be some around," said Chadwick, a National Geographic explorer and author of The Wolverine Way, who, hosted by the Sierra Club of B.C, was due to give a talk and slideshow Tuesday night in Victoria.
Chadwick knows how secretive and elusive wolverines can be, despite their ferocious reputation, which is why no one knows exactly how many remain in the U.S and Canada.
For decades the wide-ranging animals were trapped, poisoned and shot without either governments keeping count and now it is believed wolverines could be endangered, although there is not yet an official designation.
It is not even known whether the Vancouver Island group is a true sub-species, said Chadwick, who is hoping someone has a few pelts stuffed away in their basement which could provide enough DNA for testing.
"Today we would be able to do genetic testing to give a much surer sense of the difference," he said.
After five years of studying wolverines in Montana's Glacier National Park, where the animals, which have ranges of more than 1,200 square kilometres, often cross the border to B.C.'s Flathead River Valley, Chadwick is convinced that much of their fearsome reputation is a bad rap."They are seen as Tasmanian devils on crack. They are if you corner them or are competing for a carcass," he said.
Most stories and pictures of wolverines came from trappers, Chadwick said."And if you have a wolverine in a trap, surprisingly, he's not really happy," he said. Although wolverines will take on grizzly bears or wolves, there is no record of attacks on humans, he said.
But, there is no doubt wolverines have a bad-ass attitude, Chadwick said."They are designed to intimidate so they can compete with grizzly bears," he said."It is unmitigated bad-ass behaviour when a 30-pound animal can drive a grizzly bear off a carcass. They have a ferocious roar like a Harley-Davidson mating with a chainsaw."Anyone coming across a wolverine on full throttle would believe they were meeting a velociraptor, Chadwick said."The bear must think 'I don't think this thing is going to kill me, but it's nuts and I'm going to get pretty scratched up.'"
Wolverines, which are also threatened by climate change as they walk on top of snow and need cold temperatures, eat almost anything, but often rely on scavenging leftovers from other predators.
"They eat everything — frogs, squirrels, fish. I tell people they are very particular about their diet. It has to be alive or dead," Chadwick said.
The talk and slideshow, at Fernwood Community Association, was in support of Sierra Cub B.C.'s Flathead River Valley campaign.
Officially, the gulo gulo Vancouverensis — defined as the gluttonous glutton wolverine from Vancouver Island — almost disappeared in the 1960s and the last known sighting was in 1992, leading scientists to believe the species had been extirpated from the Island.
"But there may still be some around," said Chadwick, a National Geographic explorer and author of The Wolverine Way, who, hosted by the Sierra Club of B.C, was due to give a talk and slideshow Tuesday night in Victoria.
Chadwick knows how secretive and elusive wolverines can be, despite their ferocious reputation, which is why no one knows exactly how many remain in the U.S and Canada.
For decades the wide-ranging animals were trapped, poisoned and shot without either governments keeping count and now it is believed wolverines could be endangered, although there is not yet an official designation.
It is not even known whether the Vancouver Island group is a true sub-species, said Chadwick, who is hoping someone has a few pelts stuffed away in their basement which could provide enough DNA for testing.
"Today we would be able to do genetic testing to give a much surer sense of the difference," he said.
After five years of studying wolverines in Montana's Glacier National Park, where the animals, which have ranges of more than 1,200 square kilometres, often cross the border to B.C.'s Flathead River Valley, Chadwick is convinced that much of their fearsome reputation is a bad rap."They are seen as Tasmanian devils on crack. They are if you corner them or are competing for a carcass," he said.
Most stories and pictures of wolverines came from trappers, Chadwick said."And if you have a wolverine in a trap, surprisingly, he's not really happy," he said. Although wolverines will take on grizzly bears or wolves, there is no record of attacks on humans, he said.
But, there is no doubt wolverines have a bad-ass attitude, Chadwick said."They are designed to intimidate so they can compete with grizzly bears," he said."It is unmitigated bad-ass behaviour when a 30-pound animal can drive a grizzly bear off a carcass. They have a ferocious roar like a Harley-Davidson mating with a chainsaw."Anyone coming across a wolverine on full throttle would believe they were meeting a velociraptor, Chadwick said."The bear must think 'I don't think this thing is going to kill me, but it's nuts and I'm going to get pretty scratched up.'"
Wolverines, which are also threatened by climate change as they walk on top of snow and need cold temperatures, eat almost anything, but often rely on scavenging leftovers from other predators.
"They eat everything — frogs, squirrels, fish. I tell people they are very particular about their diet. It has to be alive or dead," Chadwick said.
The talk and slideshow, at Fernwood Community Association, was in support of Sierra Cub B.C.'s Flathead River Valley campaign.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment