The tundra is a place where two predators rule. The gray wolf and the wolverine. Although gray wolves eat wolverines, scientists have found out new things about gray wolves’ strategies to catch wolverines — they are called offenses. An offense is like a defense to catch your prey. 

Wolverines eat berries, moose, and elk. Wolverines sometimes hide in the snowy thicket. So when the predator comes near, the wolverine pounces, and then if the prey is taken by surprise, it will run away. 

Gray wolves eat wolverines, elk, and moose. The gray wolf’s predators are brown bears, polar bears, and cougars. Gray wolf pups are the size of fennec foxes. Wolverine pups are the size of baby kit foxes. The gray wolf is vulnerable because it is endangered. The wolverine has a close predator/prey relationship to the gray wolf. 

Sometimes gray wolves and wolverines have fights for prey. When a gray wolf sees a wolverine hunting, for example running towards an elk, it will also run to the elk, and whoever snatches it first gets to take it back to its den or burrow. 

Wolverines dig burrows underground. Gray wolves, on the other hand, have their babies in dark dens where predators can’t see anything — even if they have good night vision. But the wolves make their way around by sniffing. A gray wolf can recognize its den by its paw prints, which are unique and different from wolverine prints. Wolverine prints are the size of flat fossils. Gray wolf prints are the size of large stones or rocks, bigger than a flat fossil.

Gray wolves hunt in cold areas because they’re built for the cold and have a lot of fur and big paws to walk in deep snow. But wolverines prefer warm places and have small paws and light fur.  A wolverine’s fur is orange-ish and black. Wolverines are solitary. Gray wolves are not. They hunt in packs. Wolverines and gray wolves live in Canada.

The wolverine is a relative of the gray wolf and also its prey because gray wolves eat wolverines. They are both rulers of the tundra!