The wolverine is, like most mustelids, remarkably strong for its size. It has been known to kill prey as large as moose, although most typically when these are weakened by winter or caught in snowbanks. Wolverines inhabiting the Old World (specifically, Fennoscandia) are more active hunters than their North American cousins. This may be because competing predator populations are not as dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it.
Armed with powerful jaws, long razor sharp claws, and a thick hide, wolverines may defend kills against larger or more numerous predators. There is at least three published accounts and one of a 27-pound wolverine who stole a kill from a much larger predator namely, a black bear (adult males weigh 400 to 500 pounds). Unfortunately for the bear, the wolverine won what was ultimately a fatal contest, slashing the eyes and throat of the bear.
Mating season is in the summer, but the actual implantation of the embryo (blastocyst) in the uterus is stayed until early winter, delaying the development of the fetus. Females will often not produce young if food is scarce. The young (typically three or four) are born in the spring. Kits develop rapidly, reaching adult size within the first year of a lifespan that may reach anywhere from five to (in exceptional individuals) thirteen years.
Adult wolverines have no natural predators, save man, though they do come into conflict with (and may be killed by) other large predators over territory and food. Juveniles are, unsurprisingly, more vulnerable and infants (kits) have been known on occasion to be taken by predatory birds, such as eagles.
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Originally Posted by Beowulf65
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