wolverines?

[MattPrince]

So, long bushy tail, ran away from dogs.

Your right, must have been a wolverine.

[Farplace]

A few years ago I saw what i first thought was a wolverine in Weardale. I was miles from anywhere, at night, and I saw this creature in the car headlights. It was badger-sized, and appeared brown-ish in colour. It held it's bushy tail out straight from it's back, and it walked (or rather ran) like a ferret.
The area it was seen in could not sustain such a predator as a wolverine - a few rabbits and squirrels, the occasional hare, and even more occasional roe deer would be all it could eat - unless it started on the sheep.
Looking back, I am pretty sure it must have been a light-coloured badger, which looked brown in the car headlights.
I did wonder about Coatimundi, but the tail was wrong.

[Dogghound]

Could have been an Erythristic badger Farplace.

[Farplace]

Yes Dogghound, I have been looking at pictures of Erythristic badgers, and it seems like a good bet.

[faz]

Originally Posted by MattPrince

So, long bushy tail, ran away from dogs.

Your right, must have been a wolverine.

dont be so dismissive we are all here to ask questions and learn ) if the OP thinks it is from memory then that should be it

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

South Wales 30 years ago, could just possibly have been a Pine Marten, much smaller than a wolverine but morphologically comparable, and over 30 years memory is a fairly poor measure of size. CM

Just to add - there's this Interim Notes on the Status of the Pine Marten in South and Mid Wales | Winter 1992/1993 which suggest at least Martens were in the Neath Valley in the 19thC - pretty thin evidence for a 1980s sighting but more likely than wolverine. Badger even today would not be out of the question but the "longer fluffy tail" doesn't fit. There's a railway north of the location which for the last forty years has carried only limited traffic so possibly serves as a wildlife corridor, and there are some extensive areas of scrub, pasture and wood to the west, though it's still hardly typical Pine Marten territory

CM

[Mustela]

There have been claims of wolverine in Britain before. I remember a claim from Speyside or Cairngorms - seen at night by a wildlife watching tour group. I think seen quite well but have no further details.
I know of people who have seen them recently in Finland where they are coming regularly to baited sites.

[crazyjoe123]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

I would have thought it extremely unlikely + probably a case of mistaken identity.

I was really lucky to see a Wolverine a few years ago in the early hours. I was in a hide bear watching (baited outside) in Finland + as well as being lucky to watch several Brown Bears at close quarters somebody was awake + alerted us to see the Wolverine- tghe largest mustelid.

Largest terrestrial mustelid. Sea otters are heavier, giant otters are longer.

[Thy]

There's been rumours of wolverine sightings in the Uk for years now, including rumours of one being shot by a farmer in Wales.

It's possible a few may have escaped from private collections, but I would doubt they were being spotted with any great regularity.

[crazyjoe123]

They're not regularly seen in their native countries where they are at higher denisities than a handful of escapees and they are entirely ably to survive our climate so its possible if inprobable