WOLVERINE - COMPREHENSION READING

COMPREHENSION READING

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Weighing a mere 30 to 50 pounds, the wolverine is small, dense, and muscular, yet pound for pound it is the strongest predator in the wilderness of Alaska and Canada. The wolverine belies its family identity, more resembling a small black bear than a member of the weasel family. It has thick, dark fur with golden highlights along its sides and across its broad, stout head and cropped ears.

Traditional legend has typecast the wolverine as a vicious and ravenous carnivore. The Eskimos called this creature cavik or "evil one" because of its habit of raiding caches of food. Even its genus name Gulo means glutton. However, these stereotypes are not altogether accurate. The wolverine does have a voracious appetite, but like most predators, its life is one of feast and famine. It gorges itself when it locates a ready supply of food and fasts for days on end until it makes its next find. Wolverines prefer fresh meat, but they are not efficient predators. Although they are quite capable of killing larger prey, they are rarely fortunate enough to get close enough to do so. The wolverine is too slow to catch fleet-footed big game, and it looks comical as it bounces along on its stubby legs. In fact, wolverines are primarily scavengers, eating the carrion of wolf kills`bones, pieces of frozen meat, and hide from moose and caribou. The teeth of wolverines are much stronger than those of feline or canine predators such as lynx or wolves, enabling wolverines to gnaw on frozen meat and thick hide without breaking their teeth. The wolverine has interlocking molars that look like pinking sheers with which it both sheers and grinds its frozen feast.

Its reputation for fierceness is also greatly exaggerated. In spite of its notoriety for bravado, the wolverine is incredibly reclusive around man. In fact, one might live a lifetime in wolverine country and never once catch a glimpse of this elusive creature. When confronted by a larger predator such as a bear, the wolverine will square off, raise its hackles, and let out a hissing roar that sounds like a small jet engine. Snarling and baring its teeth, it appears so menacing that even a grizzly bear is loathe to tangle with the much smaller rival, though its posturing is for the most part bluff.

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