Highland wolverine kits delight keepers
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WOLVERINE kits have been born at a Highland wildlife park - a Scottish first.
The two youngsters have made an appearance at the
Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie.
As well as being the first time in Scotland, it 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.
Vickie Larkin, carnivore head keeper at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland 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 February 7 and are now almost two months old."
The species has 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 coloration similar to their mother’s.
Douglas Richardson, head of living collections at Highland Wildlife Park, said: "Tina, their mother, is fiercely protective of the new kits and they never stray far from her.
"The kits have not yet been sexed, but as soon as they are keepers will start to think of names for the two youngsters."
Wolverine are the largest member of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, stoats, badgers and otters.
They are tough and powerful animals and are normally found in the Arctic and subarctic areas of Europe, Asia and North America.
Wolverines are scarce throughout most of their European range due to over-hunting and diminishing prey populations, which brings them into conflict with humans as they are forced to feed upon domestic livestock.
• Photos of the wolverine kits with their mother can be found at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6HrzBanU6K6NmVXd1BWeVdqU0U&usp=drive_web
