August 2021 - 23

a Wyoming-led captive-breeding program,
these ferrets were successfully reintroduced
to two locations in Wyoming, seven other
states and in Canada and Mexico.
NORTHERN RIVER OTTER
Another semiaquatic member of the weasel
family, more so than the mink. River otters eat
mostly fish, but also have been known to feed
on crayfish, ducks, rodents and birds. While
they retain the typical weasel shape with a
streamlined body, short legs and short, dense
fur, they are larger than other family members
found in Wyoming. Males can reach 3 to 5
feet long and weigh 15 to 30 pounds. The
otter stronghold in the state is in and around
Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks,
but any waterway that has the proper bank
habitat for den sites and a fish population for
food can support otters.
AMERICAN BADGER
The American badger is quite possibly the
best-known and most often seen member of
the weasel family in Wyoming. It is a medium-sized,
powerful, heavy-boned carnivore.
Badgers are equipped with 1 1/2-inch front
claws and short, shovel-shaped claws on the
hind feet for removing the dirt loosened by
the front feet. Badgers have a third eyelid that
helps keep dirt from their eyes when digging.
Their adeptness at digging helps them obtain
food by digging out rodents like ground
squirrels, prairie dogs and pocket gophers,
but they'll eat whatever they come across
including rabbits, rodents, birds and their
eggs, snakes, grasshoppers and other insects.
The badger has a grizzled, colored fur on the
back and sides, a cream-colored belly and a
bold-colored face with a white stripe running
from just in front of its nose to its shoulders.
There are two large, dark, crescent-shaped
black spots on both white cheeks.
WOLVERINE
The largest and most powerful of the landbased
weasel family, wolverines weigh around
35 pounds. They are slightly larger than a
badger with longer legs and long, dark-brown
fur with a lighter colored band of fur running
along their flanks meeting at the center of
their back at the front shoulders.
Their nickname in the Arctic regions of
their range is the glutton, and it is well-deserved.
They will eat almost anything and
will destroy whatever they must to get food.
Another nickname for the wolverine is skunk
American badgers have front claws that can be up to 1 1/2 inches long. (Photo by Francis Bergquist)
bear as they excrete a foul-smelling musk.
Wolverines breed in the spring and summer
and their two to four kits are born the next
spring. Their natural den is usually a snow
tunnel, a rock cave or crevice and sometimes
under a large fallen tree or root ball.
Wolverines are great travelers and can cover
20 miles or more in a single night while hunting.
In 2008, a young male labeled M56 was
captured and radio-collared south of Togwotee
Pass in Wyoming. In just two months
he traveled to Colorado's Rocky Mountain
National Park, a distance of 585 miles. In the
spring of 2016, M56 was shot and killed in
western North Dakota by a rancher when it
was harassing his cattle. That was 700 miles
from where he was last seen in Colorado.
With admirable traits and a cleverness
combined with tenacity to thrive, weasels
have a sheer will to live and to do what they
must to survive under any circumstances.
They must be admired. The next time you
hear someone described as a weasel, you may
need to ask if it's meant as a compliment.
- Francis Bergquist lives in Saratoga with his wife, Janice.
He is a frequent contributor to Wyoming Wildlife.
Northern river otters are commonly found in and
around Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in
Wyoming. (Photo by Francis Bergquist)
Wyoming Wildlife | 23

August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2021