"The U.S. government on Friday proposed adding wolverines, feisty but rare members of the weasel family, to the federal threatened and endangered species list because global warming is reducing the mountain snows the animals need for survival."
"Fewer than 300 wolverines, solitary creatures said to resemble small bears with bushy tails, are believed to exist in the lower 48 United States, where they mostly inhabit the high country of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Washington state.
The reclusive animals, which eat everything from birds to berries, build their dens, reproduce and store food in areas with snow deeper than five feet in high-elevation environments unoccupied by humans and undisturbed by snowmobilers and skiers.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement announcing the proposal that it would accept public comment until May 6 on a plan to classify wolverines in the continental United States as threatened and allow new populations to be established in the Southern Rockies, including Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming."
Laura Zuckerman reports for Reuters February 4, 2013.
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