The wolverine is a reclusive, mysterious animal that is rarely seen by humans. It’s scientific name is Gulo gulo, which translates to ‘glutton’ or ‘I swallow.‘ But what’s more gluttonous? The feeding habits of a reclusive wild animal, or the self-serving policy decisions of a populist government gambling with an at-risk species to secure its power? Biologist Mark Bradley has this report.

During my nearly 40 years of field work on wild animals, I have seen a wolverine only four times. Each sighting was a tantalizingly brief glimpse, as the animal high-tailed it away. Wolverines live in Canada’s north—from the arctic islands and the boreal forests to the western mountains, as well as in the northern U.S. and Eurasia.

As a carnivore/scavenger that relies on large ungulate carcasses (killed or found), the wolverine’s ability to pack away as much food as possible is crucial. They are long-lived (about 10 years in the wild), and reproduce slowly—females don’t breed successfully until about age three, only have two or three kits at a time (all may not survive), and usually don’t breed every year. They are also naturally scarce. A subadult male may have a home range of more than 2,000 kms-square. 

Wolverines may be renowned for travelling long distances, for their ferocity, and for their remarkable appetite, but to hunters and trappers, they are renowned for their pelts. A wolverine hide can fetch as much as $924 (but average about $530). For comparison, a beaver pelt averages about $40 CAD.

A noose on nuance

In early November, Todd Loewen, Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks, declared that all restrictions would be lifted for trapping wolverines. There was no political debate—not even a press release. The only people Loewen consulted were trappers. Bizarrely, Loewen’s rationale for this move is to facilitate data collection. You read that correctly: because data on wolverines are limited, Alberta is looking to kill more of them to gather data.

Never mind that wolverines are listed as “Special Concern” in Canada because of their low reproductive rate, vulnerability to trapping and disturbance, and their requirement for vast secure areas to maintain viable populations. Never mind that using harvest statistics to study population size is notoriously problematic. And never mind that multiple studies, including one in Alberta, reveal that harvesting is the major source of population decline. Never mind all that. Loewen’s Ministerial Order which lifts all restrictions on trapping wolverines (and otters, and lynx and fisher) is, apparently, gospel.

Snare tactics

Before Loewen locked and loaded his Ministerial pen and precluded the opportunity to collect unbiased, scientific data on provincial wolverine populations before his policy took effect, the limit for wolverine harvesting in Alberta was one wolverine, per year, per trapline. There are currently 1,691 traplines in Alberta, but less than 1,000 wolverines. Obviously every trapper therefore can’t snare a wolverine. And not every trapper targets them—it’s a labour-intensive endeavour involving large, quick-kill traps housed in a wooden “cubby.” According to Dr. Mark Boyce, a world-renowned ecologist out of the UofA who is also a trapper, the previous limit of one wolverine pelt was simply not worth the effort for many trappers—even with the high price they fetch. 

With the quota removed, however, targeting wolverines become a viable strategy. 

Follow the illogic 

I’m not arguing against a humane, sustainable harvest. But, if populations are small and some are declining, and harvest is the major source of mortality, then clearly trapping should be severely curtailed or eliminated, and not increased, while data is gathered. Scientists and conservationists have been shouting this from the rooftops, but Minister Loewen has demonstrated he’s not interested in hearing from them. When The Jasper Local asked what exactly what data the Minister hopes to collect, and how it will be gathered, we heard crickets. Loewen has said the data would be based on “trapper effort,” but again, harvest statistics are dubious: pelt prices and reporting rate will mask any real change in wolverine abundance. I know they’re his buddies, but how can the minister possibly hope to gain management-worthy data from trappers, and in just a few years?

Friends first, science second

The truth is, he can’t. Collecting unbiased scientific data on wolverine biology requires huge study areas and many years, matched with hefty amounts of labour and money. Perhaps the welfare of wolverines is not what the minister is actually concerned with. The minister is a life-long trapper and has stated that he’d prefer to get information from trappers rather than from biologists. To be fair, he also said that once the data was in hand, he would have biologists set new limits. But I would argue that even the best scientists can’t overcome bad data. A core principle of any statistical analysis is that the data must be collected in an unbiased manner. Working with trappers to conserve fur-bearing animals is a good idea, and important partnerships have been created between trappers and conservation orgs to learn more about where wolverines and other furbearer species occur in the province.

Bottom line, however, is that decisions should be based on unbiased scientific data first, and only then complemented by the observations of trappers.

Some Albertans suggest Loewen’s lifting of wolverine harvest limits is just another attempt to curry favour with rural Albertans who make up a core constituency of his party—a ‘dog-whistle’ to conservative voters that the UCP is listening to them, rather than the experts. Wildlife scientist Matt Scrafford says the government is relying on risky and scientifically unsound policies. Canmore based photographer and conservationist John E. Marriott calls this policy another mindless (and science-less) decision from the Alberta government and Minister Todd Loewen. 

“This is going to come back to bite the dying trapping industry,” Marriott suggests.

Two things are certain: if you want to collect data on a vulnerable, declining species, you use non-invasive, non-lethal methods to do it.

And if you want to erode trust among Albertans, you don’t bother consulting them before locking and loading your Ministerial pen.

Mark Bradley // info@thejasperlocal.com