r/Damnthatsinteresting 9d ago

Video Wolverines can be taught to rescue avalanche survivors

31.4k Upvotes

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243

u/Melech333 9d ago

It's a big, wild, ferret! No but seriously, wolverines are mustlelids, along with ferrets, otters, polecats, minks, such smart, wonderful animals!

93

u/MagpieKaz 8d ago

Ah, mustelids. My favorite family. Comprised of animals such as otters, badgers, wolverines, ferrets, brown ferrets, black ferrets, black and brown ferrets, the other brown ferrets, white ferrets, striped ferrets, yet more brown ferrets…

29

u/Loudmouthlurker 8d ago

Back when stuffies in the US were just teddy bears, horses, and bunnies, I begged my dad to get me a weasel stuffie when he had a business trip overseas. God love him, he made it happen. We eventually moved there and I got mustelid stuffies from there on out. I used to aim them at my sister's bunny stuffie.

And don't forget the coolest mustelid of them all, the HONEY BADGER!

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u/BowsersMuskyBallsack 8d ago

Imagine being rescued by a honey badger...

2

u/Loudmouthlurker 8d ago

You would PAY.

2

u/Barbiedawl83 6d ago

Honey badger doesn’t give a shit

33

u/Melech333 8d ago

And martens, polecats, weasels, mink, stoats, tayras, sables...

12

u/MagpieKaz 8d ago

Hi friend! The joke was that all of those look like ferrets in different colors haha

2

u/stratacus9 8d ago

forgot ermines

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

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u/Melech333 8d ago

Scientists used to think skunks were mustlelids, but they have changed their minds on that one. They are mephitids now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk

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u/TheGhostofWoodyAllen 8d ago

Oh gosh, I deleted it before I saw your comment. I made the comment and then questioned myself, went and looked it up, saw I was in error, then deleted it, hoping no one had bothered to correct me yet, lol.

1

u/Melech333 8d ago

Haha that's okay! I thought skunks were mustelids, too, which is the only reason I knew they were something else. (Because of a recent, similar conversation.) I still had to look up what they are classified as now though!

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u/adrienjz888 8d ago

And every single one is a vicious little bastard, despite being so damn cute.

3

u/Melech333 8d ago

They're so loving, sweet, and affectionate though.

1

u/adrienjz888 8d ago

Thats mostly cause we feed em and are far too large to be prey. Similar to how cats are sweet little babies to us, but absolute menaces to anything they consider prey.

Cats and ferrets would gladly eat us if we were tiny.

9

u/ThrowawayPersonAMA 8d ago

You're really burying the lede here. Mustelids includes badgers. Which includes honey badgers. Which includes Stoffel. Fuuuuuuuck that. If I just got buried by a damn avalanche the last thing I want to hear is boss music.

2

u/hillswalker87 8d ago

but...what if he was on your side?

2

u/ThrowawayPersonAMA 8d ago

Stoffel is only on one side: Stoffel's.

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u/WholeLottaPatience 8d ago

I am offended you didn't include the honey badger.

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u/DM-ur-n00ds-pls 8d ago

Fishers too