Wolverine Creates Stir at Newark Airport

Wolverines are famous for their aggressive nature. And they’re equipped to do damage: upper molars that are rotated 90 degrees make the biting power of the wolverine -- a voracious omnivore from the weasel family -- capable of crushing bone.

Apparently, the metal grate of a carrier cage poses no great challenge either.

On Wednesday, authorities at Newark Airport reported that a 40-pound male European wolverine had gnawed a hole in its metal carrier while awaiting air transport, according to a report in the New York Times.

According to a report, the wolverine’s handler, a curator for the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, noticed that the animal chewed a hole in its cage around 3:30 p.m., while awaiting transfer from a zoo in Norway to its new home in Alaska.

Port Authority police and a veterinarian from the Bronx Zoo responded to the scene and placed the cage in a van. The animal was then tranquilized with a dose of ketamine and transferred to a new cage.

The wolverine completed its journey successfully with no further incidents, the Times report said.

See the power of a wolverine in the video below.

Photo caption: A wolverine is on display at the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.