How Elusive Emotional Wolverines Connect Us With Nature

Wolverines are beautiful, elusive animals. In all of my efforts to catch even a fleeting glance of one of these remarkable beings, I’ve never been able to do so. On occasion, I’ve seen their tracks, and when I learned of Norwegian biologist Dag O. Hessen’s new book Wolverine Tracks: On the Trail of Memory and Meaning in the Wild, I couldn’t wait to read it. I wasn’t let down and am pleased he could tell us more about his quest for an elusive animal that reveals the comfort of nature in a changing, uncertain world.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Wolverine Tracks?

Dag O. Hessen: After writing several popular science books, I wanted to try something more personal, first and foremost to express my fascination for the wolverine: this almost mythological animal, a symbol of remaining, but vanishing wilderness. What do we really know about the mind and emotions of the wolverine—and other animals for that matter? Second, it was an opportunity to express the difference between going out in nature, and going into nature, and being in the mountains while writing the draft. Finally, the book is also a personal story about time, what has happened (also with nature) over the 50 years that have passed since I first encountered wolverine tracks with my father in the remote mountains. Also, a narrative in the book is revisiting the same areas, searching for wolverine tracks and perhaps also getting a glimpse of this shy animal itself—as I once did. A close encounter when we both had our attention towards a wild pack of reindeer.

MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?

DOH: I am a professor in biology with a background in evolution and ecology, but now working more towards climate change and nature loss, and how these topics are connected. I have always been fascinated by nature, being an “outdoor man” with a passion for mountains. Along with my professional interest, I have always been interested in philosophical issues and as an evolutionary biologist also which can be summarized as “the nature of humans and humans in nature.”

MB: Who do you hope to reach?

DOH: Anyone with a passion or interest for nature, from professionals to managers to readers in general. Most people have both an interest and a passion for nature, and notably what remains of true wilderness.

MB: What are some of the topics you consider, and what are some of your major messages?

DOH: The life of the wolverine is of course the focus of the book, but it is not first and foremost a book about wolverine biology. Although the wolverine has remarkable strength and physiological properties, I also reflect quite a bit about its psychology. What kind of sorrow or joy can they feel? They are certainly playful animals, and while we know they from time to time climb mountains, I think the most striking example I´ve read about was a quite remarkable radio-collared wolverine that was responsible for probably the most spectacular feat of mountaineering ever performed by a wolverine. The signals from his radio collar bore witness to this journey. This wolverine, named M3, climbed to the top of Mount Cleveland, the highest peak in Glacier National Park, at almost 10,500 feet. As if that weren’t enough, he reached the summit via an almost impossible route: straight up a partly icy rock face. And this was in January. This begs the question why? There was no obvious rational reason, so one is tempted to speculate if it could be for the same purpose (or lack thereof) that humans climb peaks.

Will we ever know what is going on in their brains? While we should take care in putting too much of human motives into an animal mind, we have learned that they certainly are not Cartesian robots but are much more similar to humans than we have believed, with many of the same signal substances governing emotions and desires. We should not underestimate them (and not only the wolverine). Following from this, I also discuss in the book what kind of rights do we actually have over nature.

I also want to advocate for the importance of nature, to make us realize what we are losing when nature vanishes, and also the pleasure and importance of experiencing a starry sky from a hammock far into the wilderness, or catching your dinner by fishing trout in an alpine river. Although being a “hardcore” natural scientist, I also draw upon Thoreau´s reflections about being in nature, and I actually bring some selected books along to read during long evenings in the hammock, a tent, or remote cabins, opening up for reflections about the relations between humans and nature, as well as time and meaning.

MB: How does your work differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?

DOH: There are not many books about wolverines per se, but again, this is not a standard popular science book; it contains lots of facts and fun facts as well. It is also personal, partly psychological and philosophical, and interested in questions and reflections about nature in general, as well as questions like “what is a wolverine, really”? And do we really have the moral right to hunt the wolverine and other large carnivores down to their marginal survival?

MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about these amazing, mysterious animals, they will treat them with more respect and dignity? In general, what are you hoping readers take away from your book?

DOH: Yes indeed, I hope readers will be both fascinated, illuminated and hopefully also inspired to learn more about nature, and by that wanting to take care of it, and want to experience it. I also hope the readers will take home a new kind of respect for the wolverine in particular, but also for nature in general.

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