Wallpaper Wednesday: Wolverines

Why do we call ourselves the Wolverines ? How the ferocious animal came be associated with the state and adopted as the university mascot remains a bit of a mystery. There are many theories.

The earliest reference I found was during the 1830s, with the Native Michigan Indians comparing the new settlers to wolverines. According to this story, the Indians disliked the way the europeans were taking the land because it made them think of how the gluttonous wolverine went after its food.

General George Armstrong Custer led the Union's Michigan Cavalry Brigade popularly called "Wolverines". Composed primarily of the 1st, 5th, 6th and 7th Michigan Cavalry regiments. The Michigan Wolverine Brigade fought in every major campaign of the Army of the Potomac from the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.

One thing I do know, there has never been a verified trapping of a wolverine inside the state's borders, nor have the skeletal remains of a wolverine been found within the state's 96,705 square miles. In fact, the first verified sighting of a wild wolverine inside the state of Michigan occurred in February of 2004.