The Wolverine
Yearly Cycle of Power: Winter
Time of Power: Dusk
Attributes: Thriving in Opposition, Resourcefulness, Gambling, Solitude, Surprise
With the modern media, it is tough to say the word ‘Wolverine’ without thinking of the costumed comic book hero. This is a shame
though, as the proud wolverine deserves much greater honour than a spandex clad bad boy can muster. The Wolverine is the largest
land dwelling member of the weasel family. The weasel family includes otters, minks, fishers, martens, and of course weasels.
Its Latin name ‘Gulo Gulo’ means ‘glutton’. That’s one of the seven deadly sins, and you could perhaps consider the Wolverine as
one of the seven deadly mammals. Although it is a member of the weasel family, it doesn’t look much like them. Weasels often look
like long tubes with feet, while the Wolverine is stockier and muscular. It almost looks like a small bear with brown hair and yellowish
stripes on its sides. A full-grown wolverine is about the size of a mid-size dog (25-34 inches long with a tail of up to 10 inches) and
weighing between 22 and 55 pounds. In fact, the relative length of the tail is one way to distinguish the Wolverine from a small bear.
Bears do not have long tails. The male is up to a third larger than the female. The Wolverine lives in arctic and alpine regions of
the north including Canada, Siberia, Alaska, and Russia.
The Wolverine has many special adaptations that allow it to thrive in its northern climate. It has special teeth, (particularly an upper
molar), which is rotated 90 degrees and perfect for ripping meat off of a carcass that has been frozen solid and crushing bones
to get at the marrow. Other predators may not be able to eat such a carcass, so it gives the Wolverine an advantage. The Wolverine
also has long fur that is resistant to freezing and does not retain water. This helps the wolverine to stay warm in its cold environment.
It is for this reason that the pelt of the wolverine is so sought after. The Wolverine has strong legs (which most of the Weasel family do)
and it has relatively large feet in comparison to its body giving it the ability to use them like snowshoes, walking on top of the snow.
Its claws are semi retractable (meaning they can go partly back in). This allows them to be used for a few uses other than hunting
(like digging and climbing). The Wolverine can also give off an unpleasant odor when needed. This has given the Wolverine the nickname
‘Skunk Bear’. I would like to see the comic book superhero use this power more.
The Wolverine is a carnivore by nature, but it has been known to eat plant material from time to time. The best phrase to describe a
Wolverine’s dining behaviour is ‘Fierce Opportunist’. If plants are all that there are to be eaten, then it eats them. If it comes
across a moose frozen solid in the ice, it will eat that (when other predators like wolves cannot). In fact, the colder the winter,
the better the Wolverine does at surviving, as there will be plenty of frozen carcasses in its territory. If it comes across an animal
that another predator has killed, it will try to take it from them (even if the other predator is larger or the wolverine is outnumbered).
There are stories of Wolverines taking on a bear for possession of a carcass. It is not that they are fearless, they are just playing a bet.
They are betting the bear thinks it would be more dangerous to fight the wolverine than give up its carcass. Most of the time the
Wolverine gets his way (without a fight), but sometimes it ends fatally for the wolverine. They will kill animals much larger than
they are, if they need to, as well. These include moose, caribou, deer, and elk. They can travel up to 40 km per day hunting.
Wolverines are not a glutton as their names indicate. They eat what they can, then spray the carcass with their musk and bury it.
This makes it unattractive to other predators. They will come back later to dine more. The interesting thing about the wolverine is
that it moves a mainly too speeds: Full Speed and stop. So its hunting involves either chasing or ambush. It mainly ends up being an
ambush as the wolverine is clumsy by nature and does not have good eyesight. A wolverine will often climb on top of a stump or large
rock and jump down on its preys back as it passes by, using its claws to kill quickly. The Wolverine has no real predators except for
man. Man traps the wolverine for his pelt and because of the low distribution of the Wolverine, this has pushed it to endangered status.
The Wolverine generally mates in summer. The male has a range of up to 240 square miles. His range usually intersects with the ranges of
females (smaller at about 100 square miles). When they intersect in summer, mating often occurs. The interesting thing is that the embryo
does not implant until early winter, and the kits (2 to 5 of them) are born in the spring. Wolverines are fiercely protective of their
young. They mature in a year and can live up to 13 years old, but generally live to be 5 or so. Even though they mature in a year,
the young stay with their mothers for 2 years. Once mature, the young will disperse to re-colonize up to 300 miles away. Being such an
efficient predator, the large ranges work for the Wolverine…except for man. Man killing the Wolverine for its pelt really cuts down on
the population. You take out one wolverine and then there won’t be any in its range until it is re-colonized. The large ranges also
account for how infrequently people see a Wolverine. If there is only one or 2 in a 240 square mile area, you need to just happen to be
in the same general vicinity to see one. It’s not likely. Its not that the Wolverine is shy by nature, it’s just a really small chance
that you will be in the same area. This is double true considering that Wolverines prefer territory away from humans. In general,
the Wolverine is not social. Aside from mating, males and females generally do not interact. Even territorial disputes are not frequent,
as the Wolverine will leave scent marks to keep other Wolverines of the same sex away.
The bulk of the mythology surrounding the Wolverine comes from the Native Americans. He is seen as a trickster figure much like
coyote or raven. He often shows attributes of rudeness, gluttony, or sexual impropriety. The difference being that he does not
usually get the rewards of his tricks. In one myth (Tlingit), the Wolverine steals all the game from his wife’s brothers. They
fear starvation so much that they beat him, break his back, and pour hot grease on him to get the food back. In an Algonquin myth,
two girls were stuck up a tree. They offered the Wolverine sexual favours in return for bringing them down. In one myth when he
brought them down, they peed on him and left. In another, they refused to perform so he put them back up in the tree. Wolverine
falls squarely in the chaos archetype deity-wise.
Many people see the Wolverine as being pure aggression and thus a Wolverine Totem would logically be the same. I don’t see it this
way, however. I only see aggression in the Wolverine Totem as much as any totem or animal needs to be aggressive. The Wolverine is
only aggressive when hunting or trying to face down another animal for a bite to eat. But aggression is not its base state. A
Wolverine Totem, instead, is resourceful and is one who thrives in environments and situations which others can not or will not.
Just like the Wolverine is adapted to live in cold environments and eat frozen carcasses, the Wolverine Totem will be a person who
can take a negative situation and adapt to it. In fact, they revel in hostile or negative situations. Others will find this odd and
often shun their company, as the Wolverine Totem seems opposite to common culture. This suits the Wolverine Totem fine, as he or she
is really solitary by nature. In love the Wolverine will not make long term commitments and will not remain attached to any one person
for a long time. If they are in a long-term relationship, it is only because their partner understands and gives them a lot of space.
The Wolverine Totem will be prone to gambling, as is shown by the Wolverine ‘betting’ that a bigger predator will back down. This may
take the form of monetary gambling or reckless behaviour like sky diving and crocodile wrestling. The gambling may or may not be a
problem in their lives. No judgement is made here on whether it is good or bad, just that it indicates a pattern of behaviour. In a
career, the Wolverine Totem will excel in professions that allow him to show his resourcefulness and how he can thrive in negativity.
They will also do better in conditions where they do not need to socialize much. They will be good at negotiation, law, working with
hazardous materials, and the military (as long as they are commanding).
Written by RavenDreamer
Image taken from: http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/mammalogy/mamwash/gugu.html