VI

WILD ANIMALS AND MEN

WOLVERINE AND HUNTER

One evening, while sitting before the fire in Oo-koo-hoo's lodge, we
heard sounds that told us that Amik had returned, and presently he
entered the tepee, full of wrath over the havoc a wolverine had wrought
along his trapping path. The pelts of more dead game had been ruined;
deadfalls had been broken; and even some of his steel traps had been
carried away. There and then Oo-koo-hoo decided that he would drop all
other work and hunt the marauder.

For its size--being about three feet in length and from twelve to
eighteen inches high--the wolverine is an amazingly powerful creature.
In appearance it somewhat resembles a small brown bear. Though it is
not a fast traveller its home range may cover anywhere from five to
fifty miles. It feeds upon all sorts of small game, and has been known
to kill even deer. It mates about the end of March, dens in any
convenient earthen hole or rocky crevice or cave that may afford
suitable shelter; and it makes its bed of dry leaves, grass, or moss.
The young, which number from three to five, are born in June. Whenever
necessary, the mother strives desperately to protect her young, and is
so formidable a fighter that even though the hunter may be armed with a
gun, he runs considerable risk of being injured by the brute. It has
been known to take possession of the carcass even of a caribou and to
stand off the hunter who had just shot it. Also, it has been known to
drive a wolf, and even a bear, away from their quarry. The