Wolverines pages 1-15

Study Notes

Scavengers eat carrion (dead animals) to survive and are the cleanup crew of the animal world.
Without scavengers, dead animal bodies would rot, causing bad smells, taking up space, and polluting water, which could attract disease-carrying insects.

Wolverines are part of the scavenger cleanup crew in forests and open tundra of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.
They have a strong sense of smell, which helps them detect carrion.

A female wolverine can cover 18 miles (30 kilometers) each night searching for food.
She regularly spreads her urine to leave her scent, and also has scent glands along her belly to mark her territory.
She deposits another scent signature by dragging her belly along the snow.
Each wolverine has a home range, an area it knows well, and scent markers help other wolverines know that it's her territory.

A female wolverine cautiously approaches carrion, using her sense of smell to detect the scent of carrion and predators like wolves.
If she detects wolves, she waits for them to leave before approaching the carrion, as they are more than twice her size and might attack her.
She has a sharp memory, which helps her find the spot again later.
She can also dig through ice-crusted snow and frozen ground to retrieve buried leftovers from another meal.
Wolverines have big, cone-shaped teeth and powerful jaws with strong muscles, which help them gnaw and crush bones to get the marrow inside.

The fur covering the bottoms of a wolverine's feet protects them from sharp bits of ice and cold snow.
A wolverine's sense of smell is shaped by scents as much as by sights.
They can see well in low light conditions.