Wolverines

April 22, 2021

Question: I read about the elusive wolverine that scientists documented in the Truckee region of the Tahoe National Forest from 2008 to 2018. I’m not interested in hunting wolverines but I can’t find the law which says you can’t. Aren’t they non-game weasels, which would mean you can legally hunt them?

Answer: No. Wolverines are fully protected mammals as defined by section 4700 of the FGC. It is not legal to hunt them. Your confusion may stem from the taxonomy (scientific name) of a weasel family and genus, and CCR, Title 14, section 472(a). That section states, in part: “The following nongame birds and mammals may be taken at any time of the year and in any number except as prohibited in Chapter 6: English sparrow, starling, domestic pigeon (Columba livia), coyote, weasels, skunks, opossum, moles and rodents (excluding tree and flying squirrels, and those listed as furbearers, endangered or threatened species).”

Weasels and wolverines are in the same family Mustelidae, but wolverines are not in the weasel genus Mustela, so they do not meet the definition of “weasel” by this regulation.

Wolverines have a well-deserved ferocious reputation. But other than the lone wolverine recorded living north of Truckee, there have been no verified detections in California since the 1930s. Legal protection of the species is provided in FGC section 4700, which states “fully protected mammals or parts thereof may not be taken or possessed at any time.” That FGC section also states, “No provision of the code or any other law shall be construed to authorize the issuance of permits or licenses to take any fully protected mammal, and no permits or licenses heretofore issued shall have any force or effect for that purpose…”

In addition to being listed as threatened pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act, the wolverine is number nine of nine mammals on the fully protected mammal list in California: (1) Morro Bay kangaroo rat (Dipodomys heermanni morroensis). (2) Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), except Nelson bighorn sheep (subspecies Ovis canadensis nelsoni) as provided by subdivision (b) of Section 4902. (3) Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). (4) Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi). (5) Ring-tailed cat (genus Bassariscus). (6) Pacific right whale (Eubalaena sieboldi). (7) Salt-marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris). ( Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) and (9) Wolverine (Gulo luscus).