BBC Mammals to feature UAF research on Aug. 3
Haley Dunelavy
907-474-6407
July 31, 2024
A wolverine digs into the snow as UAF researcher Tom Glass tracks its movements using a radio collar in winter in Alaska's Brooks Range.
A new BBC nature documentary Mammals will highlight UAF wolverine research on Alaska’s North Slope in an upcoming episode titled “Cold.”
The production team followed Tom Glass, who was then a Ph.D. student with the Department of Biology of Wildlife and the Institute of Arctic Biology. As part of a Wildlife Conservation Society project, Glass tracked wolverine movements and behavior over four years to better understand the species’ habitat needs and vulnerability to climate change. His research highlighted the importance of snowdrifts for denning, and discovered the animals using underground ice caves in thawing permafrost as reproductive dens in winter.
Glass and his BBC collaborators also filmed the first documented observation of a wolverine foraging for fish, which had been mass-trapped and frozen in an Arctic river.
Now a postdoctoral researcher at the Geophysical Institute, Glass wrote a companion article for the BBC to share more about his science.
Filming for the segment was based at the Institute of Arctic Biology’s Toolik Field Station, whose staff provided logistical and field support for Glass and the film crew.
The episode premieres Saturday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. AKDT on BBC America and will be available to stream on AMC+.