Wolverines are a shy mammal that is found in many of the far Northern forests of Europe and America,  They are about the same size as a medium dog, but with the busy tail can appear bigger.  They usually between 65 and 85 cm in length, 17 - 27 cm in height, and eight between 12 and 25 kg.  Some large males can grow a bit bigger than this and reach over 30 kg in weight.  Generally male Wolverines are between 20 and 30% larger than females.  They are the largest of the Mustelid family of mammals which includes Stoat, Badger, Mink, and many others, they are in many ways close to a European Brown bear in terms of behaviour and appearance.

The geographic area covered by Wolverines is large and as such it is probably impossible to get accurate population figures, but they are a declining species across Europe, and in some areas they have already declined to a dangerously low population.  They have little or none natural predators, and are protected in many countries including both Norway and Finland.  they still suffer as a result of being hunted, often because they prey on domestic animals and Reindeer. 
The European population is thought to be as low as 800 - 1000 individuals.  In Russia the estimates are 1400 in the European forests and more than 18, 000 in the Eastern and more remote Russian areas.  Life expectancy in the wild is thought to be between 4 and 5 years.

Due to their shy nature which is down to their fear of humans, they are a tricky subject to photograph.  A hide is a must and the photographer must be prepared to spend long periods inside the hide quietly waiting for them to put in an appearance.  I spent three days at specialist Wolverine photography hide in Finland where the images below were taken.  The Finnish Wolverine population is thought to be between 100 and 150 individuals.