First Scottish wolverine kits born
Highland Wildlife Park celebrates mini-milestone
Wolverine kits have been born at Highland Wildlife Park, and as well as being the first time in Scotland, this is only the third time this vulnerable species has ever been born and reared in the UK. Over the weekend, keepers were delighted to spot a pair of kits running and playing close to the park’s resident female. There are currently only around 2,300 wolverines left in the wild in Europe and just 130 in captivity. The Swedish and Finnish populations are currently the most secure. Vickie Larkin, Carnivore Head Keeper at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, said: “We were hoping that our female wolverine Tina would give birth this year as we had observed mating last summer. More recently, we hadn’t seen Tina out in her enclosure for some time, which is actually a good indicator that she had possibly given birth and was nursing kits in the den" “Mirroring the process in the wild, it is often best to leave carnivores like wolverines completely alone for a number of weeks with their young after birth has taken place. Funnily enough, we were just about to check the dens in Tina’s enclosure, as enough time had passed, when I saw a little kit dart from one den to another!" "We estimate that the twin kits were born around the 7 February and are now almost two months old.”
Powerful animals, it’s not hard to see why Marvel based their Wolverine character on this species with a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size. The kits are already half the size of mum. Wolverine kits are born blind and covered in white fur, but the twins now have a coat similar to their mother’s.