Introduction

 

Wolverines (Gulo gulo)

Wolverines are a reclusive species, little is known about them despite the fact that they inhabit regions accross most of Western North America.

This project will focus on Golden Ears, BC, which lies in the southern edge of all-season wolverine habitat. The area is interesting in the case of wolverines, not only because of its position in the far southern extent of their potential rangeland, but also because of its proximity to Greater Vancouver. Because wolverines are so incredibly averse to sharing their habitat with human infrastructure, any expansion of the City of Vancouver could have a direct influence on wolverine habitat availability.

Another focus of this study was to monitor changes in wolverine habitat availability over time, due to potential alterations in spring snow cover extent which may be caused by climate change.

 

Habitat Requirements of Wolverines

Snow cover: Wolverines will only den in areas where there is spring snow cover from mid-April until mid-May .

Elevation: Wolverines have been found to range only in areas greater than 1100m above sea level.

Distance from roadways: Studies have found that wolverines will not inhabit areas less than 7.5km away from publicly accessible roadways.

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It is important that humans, primarily those in charge of building and regulating infrastructure, are conscious of the far reaching impacts that sprawling human presence can and does have, especially on extremely timid creatures such as the wolverine. The reclusive nature of the wolverine and its reputation for being dangerous means that they are often not considered in the general collective conscious with regards to environmental preservation.