Where does the wolverine live?

Written by Nicklas Iversen | Last edited 2. June 2021

For the most part, the wolverine is now found in the mountains here in Norway, mainly from Trøndelag and northwards. You can find out more about the wolverine’s distribution on this page.

Foto: Roger Brendhagen.

HABITAT

A habitat is the type of area in which a species thrives.

Nowadays, we mainly find the wolverine in the mountains here in Norway. In other parts of the world, it is more associated with forests. That was formerly the case here too, and the wolverine used to be widespread in most of the forested areas of Norway. As we humans hunted the wolverine for it’s fur, it gradually became wary of us and kept as far away from human habitation as possible. In other words, the mountains.

The wolverine has started to return to forests in several places around the country, including Trøndelag and Hedmark.

Stor hannjerv. Finland 30.5.15

DISTRIBUTION

The main population of wolverines is found in mountainous areas from Hedmark northwards. In the mountains, it prefers to live close to reindeer, while in a forest environment, with wolves and or bears as its neighbours, it can find leftovers from the other large predators. We therefore frequently see the wolverine following the tracks of other large predators in search of a ready meal.

 

This article has been written by Bjørn Henrik Stavdal Johansen, a nature guide at Visitor Centre Carnivore Flå.

SONY DSC