Females are smaller. Wolverines are compact and strongly built with short necks, broad, flattened heads and powerful jaws. Carrying their heads and tails lower than their backs, wolverines move with a lumbering gait. Their rich, brown fur has yellowish-brown stripes extending from the shoulders along the sides to the base of the tail. The fur on their heads is also light brown, with the exception of a black muzzle.
Wolverine fur sheds moisture.
Other distinguishing characteristics include small eyes, and anal scent glands that discharge a foul-smelling musk. They will eat anything they can catch, find or steal, ranging from deer, squirrels, fish and carrion to nuts and blueberries. A reputation for fierceness has also earned it the names skunk bear and devil beast. Wolverines are solitary animals except during summer breeding season. Females carry an unimplanted egg until the following December or January when gestation begins.