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®a' front Y0 Wolverine Gulo gulo (Endangered Colorado) hind The largest member of the weasel or mustelid family, the wolverine may grow to 33 inches in length while weighing as much as 60 pounds. The wolverine is distinctive in color - a rich brown over most of its body with cream or yellowish stripes along the sides joining over the tail. Although it occupies a vast territory, the wolverine is not nomadic. One male and three or four females may maintain exclusive control over more than 600 square miles, and that's one reason the animal is rarely seen. The wolverine's scientific name, gulo gulo, can be translated as "the gluttonous glutton," an appropriate description of its eating habits. Wolverines will kill birds and mammals, and they've been known to attack grown elk and to drive bears and mountain lions off a kill; but they seem to prefer carrion, and that may be partly responsible for their decline. Poison "bait stations," put out for predators, probably killed many wolverines in the past, but the practice of poisoning on public lands is now for the most part forbidden. Colorado marks the southernmost range of the species in North America, and while it was probably never common in this state, reports are that prior to 1890, the species was generally distributed in densely forested parts of Colorado's high country. While all agree that the numbers have declined, there is evidence - though it's strictly circumstantial and non-scientific - that suggests that the wolverine still exists in Colorado. The wolverine has five toes although the small toe does not always show in a track. In snow, the front track measures 41k to 7112 inches long. Below: Wolverine in Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville, Washington. Photo by Charles G. Summers, Jr.