Wolverines are wide-ranging solitary carnivores whose welfare and survival depend critically on cold mountain habitats with deep persistent snowpack that is rapidly diminishing due to climate change.
Wolverines occupy some of the most remote and demanding environments on Earth, and their welfare in the wild is intimately connected to the persistence of cold, snowy mountain habitats. Female wolverines den in deep snowpack, relying on its insulation and structural stability to raise their kits through winter. As climate change reduces the extent and depth of spring snowpack across western North America and Eurasia, wolverine reproductive success declines and population viability is threatened. The welfare implications extend beyond population-level concerns: individual wolverines denied access to adequate habitat must travel greater distances under higher stress to meet energetic needs, and reproductive failure represents a significant welfare harm for a long-lived species with low reproductive rates. Strong wilderness protection and climate action are the most effective welfare interventions for this species.