Wolverine |
Stoat |
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In the cold boreal forests of northern canada, the Wolverine is in its natural habitat. Almost 50 pounds of pure muscle, the wolverine is an animal to be contended with. Its fearless nature and strong jaws, paired with its long sharp claws make it deadly to all and it will even back down groups of wolves or other predators to defend its food, giving it a fierce reputation and the name skunk bear, even though it is part of the weasel family. Its food can come from either scavenging or hunting, and wolverines have even been known to bring down weak caribou. The fact that this animal can kill something many times its size is a true testament to its strength. Only the toughest animals can survive in the brutal cold of these high north forests, but the wolverine hardly notices the cold due to its thick coat. This coat is also hydrophobic, meaning it makes water slide off, and not ever come in contact with the skin. The wolverine relies very heavily on its sense of smell, and can detect a frozen carcase that has been buried under 20 feet of snow by an avalanche. It was this sense of smell that told it that there may be an intruder in the area.
The intruder is a stoat, another relative of the weasel. These little creatures, six to ten inches long in the body, is a true contender for this match, because both animals are on the trail of a large snowshoe rabbit. These creatures are many times bigger than the stoat, but smaller than the wolverine. But the stoat has a secret weapon, camouflage. In the winter, the stoat’s thick fur coat will turn completely white, with the exception of the tip of its tail, making it blend in with the snow perfectly. A stoat can run an impressive 20 miles per hour, and their long body and powerful legs makes them extremely agile. Their light weight makes it so that they can easily run on the top of the snow, and their claws make it so they can quickly climb trees. A stoat can easily kill rabbits many times its own size by running them down and severing the spinal cord with a quick bite. Their needle sharp teeth are perfect for this job, being able to cut clean through fur, skin, muscle and tendon in order to find their mark. These little hunters run in a series of short leaps and bounds, going several times their own length in each ‘stride’. The stoat is much closer to the rabbit than the wolverine, as it can sneak up without being noticed. All of a sudden, the rabbit smells the strong scent that wolverines can use as a defence against predators, much like a skunk. It takes off through the trees with the stoat close behind. You may think that the wolverine is out of the race, but these creatures are surprisingly fast when it comes to it. While chasing prey, a wolverine can run up to almost 30 miles per hour, and it has webbed feet that act like snowshoes to push it through the snow. With this superior speed, the wolverine slowly starts to gain on the small ermine ahead of it. This is when the rabbit changes tactics, weaving back and forth, hoping to confuse its pursuers. The stoat, very comfortable with switching directions quickly, follows suit. The wolverine, on the other hand, keeps going, tracking the rabbit from slightly further behind with its super keen sense of smell. By this time, the snowshoe rabbit is getting tired, but is still ahead of its pursuers. It quickly darts towards its burrow, diving in. The stoat dives right in after it, with its long flexible body and short legs making it a perfect fit in these tunnels. The wolverine is much too big to fit into this hole, and so he stops, at a loss for what to do. Meanwhile, the rabbit finds the back door to the warren and tries to escape that way. As soon as it is in the open, the wolverine catches the scent again and takes off. The stoat by this time has almost closed the distance. The wolverine is catching up once again, but the stoat finally jumps up on the back of the rabbit and sinks its teeth into the spine behind the skull. The rabbit falls over, but continues to resist. With one last quick rip, the stoat kills the rabbit, winning this round. |