Wolverine to Be Considered for Protection

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006 at 11:25 pm

Okay, please tell me why there is such a big dislike for mustelids with the US Fish & Wildlife – or Fish & Game – Services? They didn’t want the wolverine protected, they’re anti ferrets in California … it’s almost a pathological hatred of the species.

Thank goodness for the federal judge who overturned the decision!

I read somewhere about how maligned the “impression” of the wolverine was. People have this great misconception of how vicious and horrible this poor animal is but, in fact, it is nothing like that. Yes it’s a solitary animal, yes it smells pretty foul, (you’d probably find that if a wolverine was sterilized, that awful odor would disappear!) and yes, it hunts for food to survive. Don’t most wild animals do the latter?

Fingers crossed that the wolverine doesn’t disappear into the mists of time due to the greed and ignorance of humans!

Court overturns government refusal to consider threats to rare wilderness species

October 2, 2006Missoula, MT

– In a breakthrough in the effort to save one of the rarest wilderness wildlife species in the lower-48 states, a federal judge has overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to consider new legal protections for the wolverine. The decision, issued last Friday, September 29, sided with four conservation groups that challenged the Service’s rejection of a petition to list the wolverine under the Endangered Species Act.

The four groups are Defenders of Wildlife, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Conservation Northwest and Friends of the Clearwater.

(c) Gerald and Buff Corsi / California Academy of Sciences

“This court ruling gives the wolverine a fighting chance,” said Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso, who represented the groups in the lawsuit.

“Everything we know about the wolverine tells us that this species is under siege from trapping in Montana and habitat disruption throughout its entire range. The court’s decision means that the government can no longer ignore the threats to the wolverine.”

The decision by the U.S. District Court for Montana requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a full status review of the wolverine and issue a final determination whether the species should be listed as threatened or endangered. Listing under the Endangered Species Act would trigger new legal protections for the wolverine.