Wolverines are wide-ranging, solitary carnivores of boreal and alpine environments whose welfare is threatened by climate change reducing snowpack, habitat fragmentation, and trapping in some regions.
Wild wolverines face welfare threats from multiple directions. Trapping causes acute physical trauma — leg-hold traps cause tissue damage, fractures, and psychological stress during prolonged entrapment. Climate change threatens denning habitat; females in inadequate snowpack conditions may lose entire litters to exposure. Road mortality affects wolverines crossing fragmented landscapes. Individuals injured in traps or collisions that reach wildlife rehabilitation face poor prognosis due to their extreme stress response in captivity and large space requirements. Conservation efforts focus on habitat connectivity, climate advocacy, and trapping reform. Some jurisdictions have banned wolverine trapping in recognition of declining populations.