Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Baring her fangs, Tovi’s not to be messed with
A REAL-life wolverine has been captured baring its terrifying teeth at a West zoo.
One of very few in the UK, the wolverine called Tovi was pictured showing off its impressive fangs at Exmoor zoo.
The female has moved down from the Scottish Highland Wildlife Park as part of a European breeding programme.
Curator Danny Reynolds said: “Despite their strength and ferocity their numbers and distribution are declining in the wild.
“Habitat fragmentation and hunting take their toll and unlike their Marvel counterpart, something that even these resilient creatures have no defence against – global warming and climate change – is now having the most impact”
A European studbook maintained by Norden’s Ark in Sweden (one of the native range countries for the wolverine) allowed Exmoor Zoo to join the breeding programme.
Tovi has now settled into the enclosure and can be glimpsed in the bushes watching visitors from the security of her hideaway.
A male companion will eventually be brought in to accompany Tovi but may only arrive in autumn 2022.
In the wild, wolverines avoid people and tend to be active when the top predators – i.e. humans – are not in their environment.
Wolverines are capable of climbing trees with ease and killing and eating animals two to three times their size.
The wolverine is extremely difficult to see or find, living in remote and inhospitable terrain in the wild.