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The Wolverine Way
Glutton, demon of destruction, symbol of slaughter, mightiest of wilderness villains… The wolverine comes marked with a reputation based on myth and fancy. Yet this enigmatic animal is more complex than the legends that surround it. With a shrinking wilderness and global warming, the future of the wolverine is uncertain. The Wolverine Way reveals the natural history of this species and the forces that threaten its future, engagingly told by Douglas Chadwick, who volunteered with the Glacier Wolverine Project. This five-year study in Glacier National Park – which involved dealing with blizzards, grizzlies, sheer mountain walls, and other daily challenges to survival – uncovered key missing information about the wolverine’s habitat, social structure and reproduction habits. Wolverines, according to Chadwick, are the land equivalent of polar bears in regard to the impacts of global warming. The plight of wolverines adds to the call for wildlife corridors that connect existing habitat that is proposed by the Freedom to Roam coalition.
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First published May 1, 2009
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January 1, 2011
Full disclosure: I'm a wolverine biologist (more or less...) and have worked with, or at least hung out with, most of the people featured in this book, so I am obviously extremely biased. Confession out of the way - read the book. It's a great introduction to a fascinating animal whose characteristics make it nearly impossible to study. The animals' feats are epic, and so are those of the people who research them. The author is included in that elite number, and his years of first-hand experience with the Glacier National Park wolverine project fill the book with excellent details, and a great understanding of the science. Chadwick is an experienced science and environmental writer and the work is engaging, easy to read, and filled with great descriptions that take the reader directly into the research and - somewhat more speculatively, but no less vividly - into the lives of the wolverines themselves.
The one thing that I'm somewhat wary of in this presentation is the "badass" factor. There's a danger in thinking that the wolverine's ruggedness is simply a reflection of the outdoor community's infatuation with its own awesomeness. Maybe I'm too much of a purist, but one of the things I love about wolverines is precisely the fact that they are so removed from the human world. Selfishly, perhaps, I don't want them to become a symbol of any human group or any cause or any set of activities. I just want them to go on being their own incredible animal.
Aside from that, though - and that's a very possessive and probably unworthy concern, and only crops up a few times in the narrative - it's a really great book.
The one thing that I'm somewhat wary of in this presentation is the "badass" factor. There's a danger in thinking that the wolverine's ruggedness is simply a reflection of the outdoor community's infatuation with its own awesomeness. Maybe I'm too much of a purist, but one of the things I love about wolverines is precisely the fact that they are so removed from the human world. Selfishly, perhaps, I don't want them to become a symbol of any human group or any cause or any set of activities. I just want them to go on being their own incredible animal.
Aside from that, though - and that's a very possessive and probably unworthy concern, and only crops up a few times in the narrative - it's a really great book.
May 15, 2021
This book is one of a number of must reads if you care about our and our children's futures.
"Wolverines belong to the carnivore family known as the Must elide, more commonly called the weasel family after its most familiar members. From a public relations standpoint, this is a bit unfortunate, considering how corporate shills, slammers, faithless lovers, and hedge fund managers keep giving weasels a bad name."
This book is at once an uplifting account of wildlife biologists and volunteer assistants studying wolverines in the wild; the beauty of wilderness and a heart-rending exposure of the harsher side of Nature's sway; and yet more maddening evincing of how prevalent ignorance and cruelty are in the human condition.
I have a deep respect for the hardy souls that labor so perseveringly to help us understand the natural world that enables our existence, and that do so for a pittance, or simply because they care deeply. To me they exemplify the rare wisdom and good in humanity.
My favorite chapter epigraph in the book is:
A man cried: O Heavenly Spirit, speak to me that I may know You exist and care for my fate. And a sparrow appeared on a nearby branch, singing its heart out.
The man didn’t understand. O Creator, he cried again, let me hear your voice.
And in front of the man’s face, a bee buzzed past bearing pollen from flower to flower. A butterfly followed, floating on rainbow wings to sip nectar.
Still the man did not understand. Instead, he called more loudly yet: O Maker of All That Is, if You won’t speak to me, let me feel Your touch just once, I pray.
The Creator touched him. As the wolverine that had just bit the man on the ass loped away, the man shook his fist toward the sky, yelling: Now I am suffering because of a beast with a terrible nature. Why, oh why won’t You ever give me a sign?
And the Creative Spirit sighed: I wish I had designed these hairless apes with more intelligence. But even I don’t always get it right the first time.
~ Chadwick, Douglas. The Wolverine Way. Patagonia.
"Wolverines belong to the carnivore family known as the Must elide, more commonly called the weasel family after its most familiar members. From a public relations standpoint, this is a bit unfortunate, considering how corporate shills, slammers, faithless lovers, and hedge fund managers keep giving weasels a bad name."
This book is at once an uplifting account of wildlife biologists and volunteer assistants studying wolverines in the wild; the beauty of wilderness and a heart-rending exposure of the harsher side of Nature's sway; and yet more maddening evincing of how prevalent ignorance and cruelty are in the human condition.
I have a deep respect for the hardy souls that labor so perseveringly to help us understand the natural world that enables our existence, and that do so for a pittance, or simply because they care deeply. To me they exemplify the rare wisdom and good in humanity.
My favorite chapter epigraph in the book is:
A man cried: O Heavenly Spirit, speak to me that I may know You exist and care for my fate. And a sparrow appeared on a nearby branch, singing its heart out.
The man didn’t understand. O Creator, he cried again, let me hear your voice.
And in front of the man’s face, a bee buzzed past bearing pollen from flower to flower. A butterfly followed, floating on rainbow wings to sip nectar.
Still the man did not understand. Instead, he called more loudly yet: O Maker of All That Is, if You won’t speak to me, let me feel Your touch just once, I pray.
The Creator touched him. As the wolverine that had just bit the man on the ass loped away, the man shook his fist toward the sky, yelling: Now I am suffering because of a beast with a terrible nature. Why, oh why won’t You ever give me a sign?
And the Creative Spirit sighed: I wish I had designed these hairless apes with more intelligence. But even I don’t always get it right the first time.
~ Chadwick, Douglas. The Wolverine Way. Patagonia.
August 13, 2012
M3, one of the radio-tracked wolverines studied in Montana’s Glacier National Park, scaled the last almost vertical 4,900 feet of Mt Cleveland in 90 minutes. He summited the 10,466 foot peak in the dead of winter when the snow is so deep and the ice so slick that humans can't even get near it. You cannot help but feel the author's love and admiration for these beautiful, indomitably wild, insanely bad-ass critters.
October 16, 2018
We added this book to our library after listening/talking to a local wolverine biologist about a recent survey and study done in our own backyard. It's an important book. An honest book. A book that's altogether difficult to read in places, as nearly all honest and important books are.
The Wolverine Way is part natural history of/part personal connection to one the wildest, most tenacious species on the planet, told through the lens of Douglas Chadwick, a wildlife biologist who lives near Glacier National Park and who was a volunteer participant in an intensive five-year study of wolverines done there from 2004-2009.
But this book, like every naturalist-themed book I’ve ever read, isn’t just about wolverines. It’s about the climate crisis, human greed, misguided and outdated game management/hunting philosophies, the extreme need for wilderness corridors between wild spaces, and the lack of sufficient buffer zones between humans and wild animals. It’s about a fierce animal that has as much right to exist in the mountains as we do. (And arguably more right in the winter.)
These animals may be fierce, but they aren’t cruel. Cruel is what humans so often are and most certainly have been when it comes to diligently, passionately, and ignorantly trapping, baiting, “harvesting,” and otherwise nearly exterminating woodland (and oceanic) predators like the wolverine—as if this world will be anything but less than without them in it. As if our public and private wilderness lands and oceans will be anything but more unstable without healthy communities of predators helping manage and maintain what are both complex and vital ecosystems.
What I hope we can collectively figure out before it’s too late: We’re all connected; we need predators (and predators need ample prey, + room to roam and exist); these complex and vital ecosystems aren’t just essential to a wolverine’s survival, but to our own, too.
We have wolverines where we live, and while there aren’t enough of them left in Idaho, or anywhere else in the West, that we have them at all gives me a sense of solace. I so want them to make it.
Some of my favorite passages, then:
“To say that French voyageurs and other whites in the first waves of colonization were predisposed to portray wolverines as diabolical is putting it mildly. … Reviling wolverines wasn’t fundamentally about wolverines—no more than condemning wolves through the centuries as sadistic spawn of Satan was [is] about the wolves themselves.” —from “Kwi’kwa’ju”
“The hallmark of our particular era is the startling pace at which humans multiplied to the point of monopolizing much of the biosphere and altering its basic qualities.” —from “Risks, Rewards, and Southern Polar Bears”
“As the wolverine becomes better known at last, it adds a fierce emphasis to the message that every bear, wolf, lynx, and other major carnivore keeps giving: If the living systems we choose to protect aren’t large and strong and interconnected, then we aren’t really conserving them.” —from “Freedom to Roam”
[Five stars for important, scientifically sound books, and the hope we'll allow wolverines and their wild communities to recover even a fraction of what we've taken from them.]
The Wolverine Way is part natural history of/part personal connection to one the wildest, most tenacious species on the planet, told through the lens of Douglas Chadwick, a wildlife biologist who lives near Glacier National Park and who was a volunteer participant in an intensive five-year study of wolverines done there from 2004-2009.
But this book, like every naturalist-themed book I’ve ever read, isn’t just about wolverines. It’s about the climate crisis, human greed, misguided and outdated game management/hunting philosophies, the extreme need for wilderness corridors between wild spaces, and the lack of sufficient buffer zones between humans and wild animals. It’s about a fierce animal that has as much right to exist in the mountains as we do. (And arguably more right in the winter.)
These animals may be fierce, but they aren’t cruel. Cruel is what humans so often are and most certainly have been when it comes to diligently, passionately, and ignorantly trapping, baiting, “harvesting,” and otherwise nearly exterminating woodland (and oceanic) predators like the wolverine—as if this world will be anything but less than without them in it. As if our public and private wilderness lands and oceans will be anything but more unstable without healthy communities of predators helping manage and maintain what are both complex and vital ecosystems.
What I hope we can collectively figure out before it’s too late: We’re all connected; we need predators (and predators need ample prey, + room to roam and exist); these complex and vital ecosystems aren’t just essential to a wolverine’s survival, but to our own, too.
We have wolverines where we live, and while there aren’t enough of them left in Idaho, or anywhere else in the West, that we have them at all gives me a sense of solace. I so want them to make it.
Some of my favorite passages, then:
“To say that French voyageurs and other whites in the first waves of colonization were predisposed to portray wolverines as diabolical is putting it mildly. … Reviling wolverines wasn’t fundamentally about wolverines—no more than condemning wolves through the centuries as sadistic spawn of Satan was [is] about the wolves themselves.” —from “Kwi’kwa’ju”
“The hallmark of our particular era is the startling pace at which humans multiplied to the point of monopolizing much of the biosphere and altering its basic qualities.” —from “Risks, Rewards, and Southern Polar Bears”
“As the wolverine becomes better known at last, it adds a fierce emphasis to the message that every bear, wolf, lynx, and other major carnivore keeps giving: If the living systems we choose to protect aren’t large and strong and interconnected, then we aren’t really conserving them.” —from “Freedom to Roam”
[Five stars for important, scientifically sound books, and the hope we'll allow wolverines and their wild communities to recover even a fraction of what we've taken from them.]
August 10, 2020
Like most people, I knew practically nothing about wolverines before reading this book, and learning about the creatures and their ways has been as interesting as I had hoped. Almost as interesting, though, are the high-tech and low-tech methods the wildlife scientists use to learn about them and track their habitat. I especially enjoyed the technique of setting up a wire gun-barrel cleaning brush next to some bait. When the wolverine came to eat the bait, the brush would get some of the wolverine's fur and they could analyze the DNA. THAT is ingenious! Topping it all off is Douglas Chadwick's beautifully written passages about responding to the awesomeness of the natural environment.
I was only halfway through when I knew I wanted to recommend it.
NOTE: Despite my enjoyment of and admiration for this book, I think the routine copy editing is disgraceful! There were sentences that did not begin with a capital letter. Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman's name was spelled Fenian, and so on. Someone should re-edit this book.
I was only halfway through when I knew I wanted to recommend it.
NOTE: Despite my enjoyment of and admiration for this book, I think the routine copy editing is disgraceful! There were sentences that did not begin with a capital letter. Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman's name was spelled Fenian, and so on. Someone should re-edit this book.
June 21, 2011
This is, hands down, the best ever Nature/animal study book I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them. I'd give this book a thousand stars if allowed. It was exciting, heart-breaking, funny, big-time adventurous, knowledgeable, fascinating. Have I said I'd give it a million stars if allowed? I learned so much about wolverines on top of it. And about grizzlies, mountain goats, pine martins, and people. The people who studied the wolverine worked in the most amazing, dangerous conditions. Night studies/operations in below zero temps, forging streams barefoot/barelegged just after the ice broke up, mountain climbing, etc., I am in awe. I am also now completely infatuated with wolverines. May they travel their wolverine way forever. As Chadwick says, "There's wild, and then there's wolverine."
July 27, 2021
I really enjoyed the book until the last two chapters. Wolverines are amazing animals and the devotees to studying them are what is right with our system. The main problem seems to be that their individual ranges conflict with man. While the author says there is no whining in Wolverine camp, he whines through the last two chapters. As an older American, the population has almost doubled. Glacier National Park was made for citizens and when this was written, there were about 2 million visitors a year. The admission fees help pay for the Park. Global Warming is the same. The question is "who is going to go without? It is usually the poorer nations. We need to do what we can to save these magnificent creatures, but we may not be able (that would be sad).
December 26, 2012
In The Wolverine Way Chadwick narrates the time he spent as a volunteer on a multi-year project surveying wolverines in Glacier National Park. His voice offers a mix of wonder and humility with just the right amount of swagger. But that last element stems almost solely from what we learn of wolverines: how they can scale sheer rock and ice mountain faces in times that make the most ardent mountaineers green with envy; how they can roam twenty or more miles across rugged topography in a single day, treating mountain slopes as if they were flat; how they can go head-to-head with grizzlies to stake a carcass as their own; and how they can munch bones like so many stale breadsticks to carry them between meaty meals. Chadwick’s engaging, at times poetic, writing and reflections of the natural world are what elevates this book from a mere documentation of a project to an insightful tome and into what I can only call the mindset of a wolverine. It's well worth a reader's time, if they have a pre-existing interest in the natural history of our continent's predators.
September 23, 2020
I thought this was going to be the dry telling of an esoteric study of wolverines, but it was terrific. Chadwick understands the heart of what makes a good story -- the people & their unique qualities that they bring to a difficult endeavor involving both nature & beast. He made this an exceptionally readable & profound rumination on man & beast meeting on the edge of nature. Highly recommended.
March 12, 2017
Did you know...
-Wolverines weigh 30 pounds on average.
-Wolverine kits are pure white when they are born.
-Wolverines need high-altitude deep-snow habitats.
-There are only about 300 wolverines in the lower 48.
-Wolverines can scale a 5000 vertical cliff in 90 minutes.
-Wolverines chomp through bones that other carnivores leave behind.
-Wolverines often force grizzly bears off kills.
-One wolverine can take down a moose by itself.
Find out more at WolverineFoundation.org
-Wolverines weigh 30 pounds on average.
-Wolverine kits are pure white when they are born.
-Wolverines need high-altitude deep-snow habitats.
-There are only about 300 wolverines in the lower 48.
-Wolverines can scale a 5000 vertical cliff in 90 minutes.
-Wolverines chomp through bones that other carnivores leave behind.
-Wolverines often force grizzly bears off kills.
-One wolverine can take down a moose by itself.
Find out more at WolverineFoundation.org
July 22, 2017
I knew nothing about wolverines other than the name and the fact that M3 summited Glacier's tallest peak, which I read in another book that quoted this book.
Now I can claim that I know a lot more. The book describes mostly the Glacier Wolverine Project, a five-year (2002-2007) project to study and understand wolverines. It felt like so much fun, that I wanted to be a part of it, and was sorry to learn that it is now all over.
Now I can claim that I know a lot more. The book describes mostly the Glacier Wolverine Project, a five-year (2002-2007) project to study and understand wolverines. It felt like so much fun, that I wanted to be a part of it, and was sorry to learn that it is now all over.
November 22, 2025
I LOVE wolverines. Mustelids in general are my favorite animals in the world, but wolverines occupy a very special place in my heart. Not because they are "badass," "mean," or "demonic," etc., but because they are truly fascinating animals that we know so little about. Thank you, Douglas Chadwick for writing this book that goes beyond the stereotypes (although he definitely does restate them many times, too).
The book is more thoughtful than I thought it would be, going into reasons why we react the way we do to scavengers like the wolverine who often steal our food and destroy our things in the process. "[It] isn't about them in particular, either. How could it be, when the same slurs have been applied to almost every animal and every variety of person ever perceived as an enemy? (...) We react strongly to any threat of competition for resources and dominion. That impulse is old, deep, and consuming; a territorial wolverine could easily relate."
The author was a volunteer for a research project in Glacier National Park. This book resulted from his experience and what he learned from his work there. His observations on wolverines range from their physical characteristics and how that helps them live in their snowy and icy worlds (and how these places are now at risk—and therefore, also the wolverines themselves); their family/social relationships, which go a lot deeper than initially thought for centuries; and information on how they breed and rear their young. The book also goes into the nitty-gritty of volunteer work and the difficulties working with these animals in their habitats. It also details the difficulties in getting there protection status from the government and what hurdles were in their way (which was surprising to me, and which shouldn't have been).
The only things I really disliked was the insistence on the great "wilderness" and how wolverines are the epitome of the "wild" which kind of teetered on a very colonial view of the American landscape.
But this book really satisfied my hyperfixation, and I'm very grateful to all the scientists and volunteers who continue to study and protect the wolverines and their habitats.
The book is more thoughtful than I thought it would be, going into reasons why we react the way we do to scavengers like the wolverine who often steal our food and destroy our things in the process. "[It] isn't about them in particular, either. How could it be, when the same slurs have been applied to almost every animal and every variety of person ever perceived as an enemy? (...) We react strongly to any threat of competition for resources and dominion. That impulse is old, deep, and consuming; a territorial wolverine could easily relate."
The author was a volunteer for a research project in Glacier National Park. This book resulted from his experience and what he learned from his work there. His observations on wolverines range from their physical characteristics and how that helps them live in their snowy and icy worlds (and how these places are now at risk—and therefore, also the wolverines themselves); their family/social relationships, which go a lot deeper than initially thought for centuries; and information on how they breed and rear their young. The book also goes into the nitty-gritty of volunteer work and the difficulties working with these animals in their habitats. It also details the difficulties in getting there protection status from the government and what hurdles were in their way (which was surprising to me, and which shouldn't have been).
The only things I really disliked was the insistence on the great "wilderness" and how wolverines are the epitome of the "wild" which kind of teetered on a very colonial view of the American landscape.
But this book really satisfied my hyperfixation, and I'm very grateful to all the scientists and volunteers who continue to study and protect the wolverines and their habitats.
August 26, 2018
An intelligent, informative and entertaining read on and intriguing, yet elusive animal. The author brings wolverines into the minds and hearts of us admirers. I love wolverines and want to thank the author for all the work he has done on their behalf!
August 1, 2022
This book was well written and entertaining. I really enjoyed reading about the wolverine research in Montana’s Glacier National Park. From the wolverines themselves, which I found to be interesting and enlightening to read about, to the trials and tribulations of the researchers conducting a study in a harsh environment of an animal that little is known about.
After reading this book, I am amazed by wolverines. They are true mountaineers.
After reading this book, I am amazed by wolverines. They are true mountaineers.
July 1, 2019
Quite fascinating, and especially to read while in Glacier National Park!
October 26, 2015
A very good book about scientists and volunteers studying the habits of wolverines, a fascinating animal at the top of the weasel family. Most of it takes place in the back-country of Glacier National Park in Montana, which is a wild and wonderful place. And they did most of the study in deep winter, since that takes grizzlies out of the list of things to watch out for. It's a compelling read, though it does slow down a bit in the later chapters. All my friends got tired of me talking about how wolverines would handle any situation we were in.
March 24, 2016
Please read this book, if you wish you could scale snowy glacial peaks, love the wildness of nature or care for the precious planet that we live on. Long have I been fascinated by Gulo gulo and now after reading this beautifully written book I recognize a part of myself in the wolverine. Chadwick made me cry and care so deeply for the continued survival of this impressive survivor. Leaving this Summer to go visit Glacial National Park before the last glacier is gone and pay homage to the home of the ultimate beast of the wildness... even grizzlies back down.
February 7, 2016
Beautifully written book about a wonderful and mysterious animal. It wasn't possible for me to read this book without totally falling in love with the wolverine--as an animal, and the individuals into whose lives the reader gets to look into, however briefly.
This book is absolutely recommended. (And after this you might want to watch the episode of PBS's Nature called "Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom".)
This book is absolutely recommended. (And after this you might want to watch the episode of PBS's Nature called "Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom".)
October 21, 2011
I was initially drawn to this book because I love wildlife biology books and also happen to be a Michigan Wolverine. Great combination of the history and fate of the animal, as well as modern techniques used for capturing and tracking.
August 31, 2016
Much more vicious than the Burren Way.
December 23, 2018
This is not a typical scientific book, but more of a fascinating scientific story of a group of researchers trying to study (and save) one of the most elusive species of animal on earth, the wolverine. No doubt it is the best book you could find about this unknown, strong, tireless creature.
The writing is nice and enthusiastic, and the single chapters are well structured; but on the whole the book suffers from lacking a cohesive narrative story. It is really a big missed opportunity.
The author (D. Chadwick) simply told the story in a chronological order: it jumps from a wolverine to another one, and alternate them with the internal stories of the group of researchers. It could have worked if it had a purpose; but here it's all really segmented. And too much space is given about researchers and other issues. I'm not saying it's not interesting, but it all should have been at least written in a more catchy way; you know, like a book.
I eventually I gave it 4\5 stars though, because the good here is very good. It is well written, easy to read, and with many pictures (black and white, and colors). The chapters about the wolverines's life are fantastic.
I love the researcher's difficulties with the wolverine's elusiveness, and the fact that they never see them, like ghosts of the forest: they can only follow their tracks and make hypothesis. And above all I love the writer's enthusiasm and growing reverential respect for the wolverine. It makes you deeply understand the toughness of the wolverine's life, the dangers it has to face, and the unbelievable physical strength and capacity for adaptation it must have to live and survive. No other animal is like it.
As one of the experts put it: "There's tough, and then there's wolverine".
The writing is nice and enthusiastic, and the single chapters are well structured; but on the whole the book suffers from lacking a cohesive narrative story. It is really a big missed opportunity.
The author (D. Chadwick) simply told the story in a chronological order: it jumps from a wolverine to another one, and alternate them with the internal stories of the group of researchers. It could have worked if it had a purpose; but here it's all really segmented. And too much space is given about researchers and other issues. I'm not saying it's not interesting, but it all should have been at least written in a more catchy way; you know, like a book.
I eventually I gave it 4\5 stars though, because the good here is very good. It is well written, easy to read, and with many pictures (black and white, and colors). The chapters about the wolverines's life are fantastic.
I love the researcher's difficulties with the wolverine's elusiveness, and the fact that they never see them, like ghosts of the forest: they can only follow their tracks and make hypothesis. And above all I love the writer's enthusiasm and growing reverential respect for the wolverine. It makes you deeply understand the toughness of the wolverine's life, the dangers it has to face, and the unbelievable physical strength and capacity for adaptation it must have to live and survive. No other animal is like it.
As one of the experts put it: "There's tough, and then there's wolverine".
September 13, 2018
I picked up this book while passing through Glacier National Park last November and it has stayed with me ever since.
The Wolverine Way opens a door to a hidden world of researchers, animals, and settings which would be hard to grasp from just driving through Northern Montana. Over a number of winters, Chadwick depicts not only a vanishing species, but also a vanishing class of person who is patient enough, modest enough, and tough enough to study them.
I found the biology and patterns of the wolverine interesting but what stayed with me the most were the cross-country skiing scenes, and the remote cabins which the small team behind the conservation project stayed in. Their determination to understand these creatures was truly amazing. Beyond the daily travails, the larger argument centers around whether a species with such a wide range can be protected by a park with definite boundaries? It would seem not. Without additional protection on neighboring forests and reservation land, an "island" of forest wilderness is simply not enough to sustain these mustelids and their way of life. Chadwick and his team aren't afraid to get their hands dirty, and several of the anecdotes take them beyond the cozy confines of glacier. (and most end with some civilian carelessly killing a wolverine to be honest).
This is a compelling book, but I came away from it feeling rather glum that so many of the principal characters (all the wolverines have names) and settings are vanishing. You have to give Chadwick credit on his honesty that these conservation problems aren't easy ones to solve.
The Wolverine Way opens a door to a hidden world of researchers, animals, and settings which would be hard to grasp from just driving through Northern Montana. Over a number of winters, Chadwick depicts not only a vanishing species, but also a vanishing class of person who is patient enough, modest enough, and tough enough to study them.
I found the biology and patterns of the wolverine interesting but what stayed with me the most were the cross-country skiing scenes, and the remote cabins which the small team behind the conservation project stayed in. Their determination to understand these creatures was truly amazing. Beyond the daily travails, the larger argument centers around whether a species with such a wide range can be protected by a park with definite boundaries? It would seem not. Without additional protection on neighboring forests and reservation land, an "island" of forest wilderness is simply not enough to sustain these mustelids and their way of life. Chadwick and his team aren't afraid to get their hands dirty, and several of the anecdotes take them beyond the cozy confines of glacier. (and most end with some civilian carelessly killing a wolverine to be honest).
This is a compelling book, but I came away from it feeling rather glum that so many of the principal characters (all the wolverines have names) and settings are vanishing. You have to give Chadwick credit on his honesty that these conservation problems aren't easy ones to solve.
April 8, 2025
[kindle & audible] I had high expectations for this book, especially since I study carnivores and their movement ecology. I hoped The Wolverine Way would be an inspiring and insightful source of information about wolverines, but unfortunately, it wasn't.
I found the reading experience heavy, particularly in the sections where the author goes into extensive descriptions of the landscape. While I understand that the environment is essential to understanding the species, the narrative didn’t manage to keep me engaged. I also tried listening to the audiobook on Audible, but it didn’t improve the experience. The narrator’s voice felt strange—almost artificially forced—which made it even harder to enjoy the content.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it past 8% of the book. It’s disappointing, because I genuinely wanted to learn more about wolverines. But in the end, this book wasn’t for me.
Perhaps other readers with a stronger appreciation for narrative descriptions and natural context will enjoy it more.
I found the reading experience heavy, particularly in the sections where the author goes into extensive descriptions of the landscape. While I understand that the environment is essential to understanding the species, the narrative didn’t manage to keep me engaged. I also tried listening to the audiobook on Audible, but it didn’t improve the experience. The narrator’s voice felt strange—almost artificially forced—which made it even harder to enjoy the content.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it past 8% of the book. It’s disappointing, because I genuinely wanted to learn more about wolverines. But in the end, this book wasn’t for me.
Perhaps other readers with a stronger appreciation for narrative descriptions and natural context will enjoy it more.
December 18, 2017
Wonderful and inspiring book! I never knew enough about wolverines to be prejudiced against them, although I always knew they were fierce. But this book gives a wonderful insight into their lives and makes you relate to them in a whole new way.
I hope it will help people realize what amazing creatures they are, although I have a feeling that the book isn't that well known.
I asked our university library to order it in and they did so I hope more people will read it here in Sweden... that is after I buy my own copy.. until then I'm just gonna hold on to it little longer. ;)
Apart from the wolverines this book also has some great descriptions of life in the mountains, I loved what a clear picture the author gives us of the mesmerizing beauty of the mountain landscapes.
Highly recommended!
I hope it will help people realize what amazing creatures they are, although I have a feeling that the book isn't that well known.
I asked our university library to order it in and they did so I hope more people will read it here in Sweden... that is after I buy my own copy.. until then I'm just gonna hold on to it little longer. ;)
Apart from the wolverines this book also has some great descriptions of life in the mountains, I loved what a clear picture the author gives us of the mesmerizing beauty of the mountain landscapes.
Highly recommended!
September 2, 2019
Wolverines are incredible beings. Seeing one in Yellowstone (one of only ~8 in the park) prompted me to learn more about them, and Chadwick does an excellent job presenting what is known along with how the Glacier Wolverine Project led to these insights.
Nowadays, wolverines are scarce, yet they are not listed as endangered. The main threat to them now is climate change-- apparently listing them as endangered and requiring this country to address the overwhelming effects we are having on the planet is too much for us. Wolverines are fierce but so are the challenges they face today.
Nowadays, wolverines are scarce, yet they are not listed as endangered. The main threat to them now is climate change-- apparently listing them as endangered and requiring this country to address the overwhelming effects we are having on the planet is too much for us. Wolverines are fierce but so are the challenges they face today.
April 8, 2020
Detailed wildlife tracking of an exceptional creature
I think anyone interested in wildlife conservation can learn a lot from Douglas Chadwick. He was a volunteer that helped trap, tag, and release wolverines to be tracked in one of the most extensive life history studies of wolverines. He explains how exciting wildlife work can be, as well as discussing how important it is to take notice of animals that are considered dangerous. It is rare to find such a detailed journal of a wildlife study and I feel honored to have found and read it.
I think anyone interested in wildlife conservation can learn a lot from Douglas Chadwick. He was a volunteer that helped trap, tag, and release wolverines to be tracked in one of the most extensive life history studies of wolverines. He explains how exciting wildlife work can be, as well as discussing how important it is to take notice of animals that are considered dangerous. It is rare to find such a detailed journal of a wildlife study and I feel honored to have found and read it.
February 27, 2022
IT IS A PHENOMENAL BOOK!
It shows the great length biologist, like Douglas H. Chadwick, Dr, Savage, Mr. Copland, and biologists in general go to study these, animal to learn more about them, and to try and safeguard the future!
This was a fantastic read, not only did I learn a lot of new information about wolverines(my favorite animals), but also about how much work goes into researching these AMAZING, and elusive animals, and animals in general.
Thanks, Mr. Chadwick, for writing this great book, I honestly feel honored just reading it!
It shows the great length biologist, like Douglas H. Chadwick, Dr, Savage, Mr. Copland, and biologists in general go to study these, animal to learn more about them, and to try and safeguard the future!
This was a fantastic read, not only did I learn a lot of new information about wolverines(my favorite animals), but also about how much work goes into researching these AMAZING, and elusive animals, and animals in general.
Thanks, Mr. Chadwick, for writing this great book, I honestly feel honored just reading it!
November 27, 2024
Wolverines are very cool + this is a peek into their lives via researcher biologist Rick Yates’ Wolverine Project and it’s many dedicated volunteers. They catch, tag + track the population (approx 50) in Glacier National Park during winters. They ski and hike endlessly seeking signals and noting locations. Wolverines run over mountains as if they are flat- their homes are high glaciated areas, threatened by climate change…. If ever there was a good case for wildlife corridors and a rethinking of public lands, it’s the gulo gulo.
March 19, 2025
I've always liked the idea of wolverines. This book helps me understand their way of life and families better. So descriptive of each individual wolverine and the humans involved in the study of them in Glacier National Park. Wolverines are a scavenger/carnivore who sometimes don't back down, even when confronting grizzlies. In this respect, they remind me of caracaras, another carnivore/scavenger who can fight off bigger birds. Makes me want to read a lot of Douglas H Chadwick's other books.
September 2, 2018
Everything you want to know about Wolverines
Great title for anyone who loves nature especially Western settings. Book explains in detail a lengthy research project In Glacier National Park area to document Wolverine individuals. It’s fascinating and you will care about the individual Wolverines you get to know. Strong messages about effects of climate change and need for habitat corridors to save species.
Great title for anyone who loves nature especially Western settings. Book explains in detail a lengthy research project In Glacier National Park area to document Wolverine individuals. It’s fascinating and you will care about the individual Wolverines you get to know. Strong messages about effects of climate change and need for habitat corridors to save species.
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