information:filtering
Diet and hunting

Wolverines are primarily scavengers. Most of their food is carrion, especially in winter and early spring. They may find carrion themselves, feed on it after the predator (often, a wolf pack) has finished, or simply take it from another predator. Wolverines are known to follow wolf and lynx trails to scavenge the remains of their kills. Whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverine's feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of "glutton" (also the basis of the scientific name). However, this feeding style is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity, especially in winter.

The wolverine is also a powerful and versatile predator. Its prey mainly consists of small to medium-sized mammals, but wolverines have been recorded killing prey many times larger than itself, such as adult deer. Prey species include porcupines, squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, marmots, moles, gophers, rabbits, voles, mice, rats, shrews, lemmings, caribou, roe deer, white-tailed deer, mule deer, sheep, goats, cattle, bison, moose, and elk. Smaller predators are occasionally preyed on, including martens, mink, foxes, Eurasian lynx, weasels, coyote, and wolf pups. Wolverines have also been known to kill Canada lynx in the Yukon of Canada. Wolverines often pursue live prey that are relatively easy to obtain, including animals caught in traps, newborn mammals, and deer (including adult moose and elk) when they are weakened by winter or immobilized by heavy snow. Their diets are sometimes supplemented by birds' eggs, birds (especially geese), roots, seeds, insect larvae, and berries. Adult wolverines appear to be one of the few conspecific mammal carnivores to actively pose a threat to golden eagles. Wolverines were observed to prey on nestling golden eagles in Denali National Park. During incubation in Northern Sweden, an incubating adult golden eagle was killed on its nest by a wolverine.

Wolverines inhabiting the Old World (specifically, Fennoscandia) hunt more actively than their North American relatives. This may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are less dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it. They often feed on carrion left by wolves, so changes in wolf populations may affect the population of wolverines. They are also known on occasion to eat plant material.

Wolverines often cache their food during times of plenty. This is of particular importance to lactating females in the winter and early spring, a time when food is scarce.