2007
2007 ✦ ✦ ✦ For Jeff Ford, the third year began as cold and barren as the vast frozen farm ‹elds of Michigan’s Thumb. The digital cameras had logged a few pictures of the wolverine in the fall, but by October there was nothing. A single vague, faded track in the mud was the only sign he’d seen of her in endless weeks, and even then he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just his own wishful thinking. It seemed to be the right size and have the correct number of toes, but even so, he couldn’t be positive. The lack of snow had persisted throughout November and December of 2006, making it impossible to determine her whereabouts as the ground grew ever colder and more unyielding to the passing of both man and beast. Where was she? Was she still making a living somewhere in the frozen swamp? As each day passed without a trace, Jeff found himself again brooding over all the possibilities, none of them good. Was this the season she’d ‹nally been dispatched by a startled hunter’s gun? Drowned in a muddy bog, her leg caught fast in a beaver trap? Hit by a car as she crossed a dark stretch of road? As he drove the long, empty highways back and forth to school, he felt his eyes unwillingly drawn to the roadkill along the shoulder, compelled despite himself to seek out her familiar shape in every dark, furry mass. Where was she? He was at his wit’s end. On January 22, 2007, he sent out a public plea on his website. I could use some help. Anyone living in Michigan who thinks they’ve come across a wolverine track please contact me and document the sighting with a picture and/or a cast to con‹rm the species . . . Wolverines can travel tremendous distances so the thumb 166 wolverine could show up anywhere, even out of state, especially during February and March while the lakes are iced over and travel is thus unimpeded . . . . . . A wolverine’s paw is large, 5 inches long by nearly 4 inches wide and the toe placement is laid out much like a human. They have what I would call a thumb off to one side, and a smaller pinky offset to the other. These are set on an angle, not even with each other, with the larger thumb set further back along the side of the paw. If you lay your hand down on a table with your ‹ngers together , the basic layout of a human’s hand is eerily similar to that of a wolverine. A black bear or cougar track can easily be mistaken for a wolverine , but there are some identi‹able differences. Although a black bear has 5 toes like a wolverine, and similar dimensions, especially as a young adult bear, all 5 toes are out front of the paw, whereas the wolverine has only 3 toes out front, and 2 offset on opposite sides. The wolverine also has large claws that sink in off the end of each toe. These claws are often dif‹cult to see in the snow, but easily identi‹ed in the mud. Identifying the toes on the side of the paw print on a wolverine walking in the snow can also be dif‹cult, because they do not extend out very far, and often I’ve found even with a fresh wolverine track it’s dif‹cult to count all the toes occasionally, especially if in the deep snow. One other identifying feature of a wolverine is its small gait between steps. Wolverines have short legs and their gait while walking is often 10 inches or less, while a black bear is much longer. The short distance between tracks and large print when laid out across an area immediately catches your attention as being unique or odd, and is a good indicator of a wolverine track. Felines such as cougars and bobcats all have 4 toes, as do canines such a coyotes, wolves and domestic dogs. These species also have 2 toes evenly set out front, and the other 2 directly even with each other on the side, whereas the wolverine’s thumb and pinky are offset at an angle just like the hand of a human. All the characteristics of a wolverine track mentioned above have helped us to sort through the many tracks we ‹nd in the woods and along roadsides as we forage...
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