- Growls: Used to communicate a range of emotions, from mild annoyance to aggressive defense.
- Hisses: Indicate extreme agitation, fear, or hostility.
- Squeals: Express excitement or surprise.
- Chuffing: A soft, low-pitched vocalization that sounds like a gentle blowing sound. It's often associated with social interactions, contentment, or appeasement.
- Screams: Usually produced during fights or when a wolverine feels threatened.
2. Body Language and Postures:
- Body Lowering: Lowering the body with ears flat against the head is a submissive posture, typically adopted when a wolverine encounters a dominant individual.
- Tail Positioning:
- Tail Straight Up: Denotes alertness and curiosity.
- Tail Horizontally Extended: Sign of relaxation or contentment.
- Tail Tucked Under the Belly: Fear, submission, or anxiety.
- Raised and Arched Back: Display of aggression or defensiveness.
- Ear Positions:
- Ears Forward and Perked: Listening attentively or in an alert state.
- Ears Laid Back or Flat: Can indicate fear or submission.
3. Scent Marking:
- Urine marking: Wolverines mark their territories, food caches, and travel routes with urine. They lift a hind leg and spray a small amount of urine backward.
- Scent rubbing: They rub their scent glands located near the base of the tail on various objects to mark their presence.
4. Facial Expressions:
- Bared Teeth: A clear sign of aggression or defensive behavior.
- Lip curling: May accompany growling or hissing and indicate hostility.
5. Play Behavior:
- Wolverines engage in play behavior involving chasing, wrestling, and mock fighting with each other. This helps establish social bonds and provides an opportunity for physical exercise and skill development.
Overall, wolverines use combinations of vocalizations, body language, scent marking, and facial expressions to communicate with conspecifics. Their solitary nature means they rely primarily on chemical signals and vocalizations for long-distance communication.