Lindsay fowlet, age 9, of Spokane, Wash., for his question:

Is the Wolverine a small wolf?

Not so long ago there were many wolverines in our north woods way across the country. But now most of them are gone, and no one is sorry to See the last of them. Wolverines are even more savage than the wild wo1ves. But they are not small wolves and are not related to the wolf family.

He was named the wolverine because his fierce character reminded people of a savage Wolf. Wild wo1ves, of course, are feared by other animals and even by peop1e. But they get along well with each other and hunt together in packs. They kill, and they eat up the meat that they kill. The wolverines is so bad tempered that he cannot get along with anyone. All the animals of our north woods hate and fear him. Even bears and pumas move aside when the wolverine comes to take away their dinners. And Mr. And Mrs. Wolverine live separate lives. Each  wolverine hunts alone.

The wolverine looks a little like a small, short legged, shaggy wolf. But the wo1ves hate him, and he is not related to them. Some peop1e thought that the name wolverine was too good for him. A glutton is a person who eats too much, and it is a nasty name because overeating is a nasty habit. But it Seemed a suitable name for the wolverine. Many people call him the glutton because the greedy fe11ow is forever hungry. He may kill a large deer and stay by the body for days, gorging and resting until all the food is gone. Then he is ready for another meal.

The wo1verine, alias the glutton, also is called the skunk bear. This is because he gives off a skunky smell. If by chance he cannot eat all he kills he spreads around a skunky smell and spoils it so that Sma,ller animals cannot feed upon the scraps. His dark coat is striped along the sides with yellow bands, and as he walks along on his clumsy legs he looks somewhat like the skunk the size of a small

The wolverine has one good quality, but it is useful only after he is dead. The furs of most animals freeze hard in very frosty weather. The fur of the w'o1verine stays soft at 60 below zero. Eskimos use his fur to line their cuffs and hoods. Arctic explorers also use wolverine fur on the clothing that touches the skin.

Baby wolverines are born in June. Their home is the far north, where the summer days are long and perhaps the sun does not set from day to day. There may be two or three of them, looking like small balls of shaggy, dark fur. Their mother nurses and tends them in a cave or hollow tree. At the end of summer each cub is ready to go off by himself to live the lonely, savage life of a grown up wolverine.