---
title: "polar bear vs wolverine — size, speed and bite force"
description: "polar bear and wolverine compared on mass, length, speed, bite force and lifespan — every measure side by side, with why the numbers cannot settle an encounter."
url: https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/polar-bear-vs-wolverine/
site: "At One Place"
---

# polar bear vs wolverine

**polar bear vs wolverine: polar bear leads on 4 of 4 measures**

Measured comparison — not a prediction

The largest living land carnivore, classified as a marine mammal because it hunts from sea ice. The largest land-dwelling weasel, strong enough to drive bears off carcasses. On the measurements below, polar bear leads on more of them — but they do not all point the same way, and the ones that disagree are the interesting part.

## The measurements

|  | polar bear | wolverine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mass | 150–700 kg | 8–25 kg |
| Length | 1.8–3 m | 0.65–1.07 m |
| Height | 1–1.6 m | 0.36–0.45 m |
| Top speed | 40 km/h | — |
| Bite force | 1,200 psi | — |
| Lifespan | 20–32 yr | 7–17 yr |

## Where each one leads

- Mass: polar bear is 32× heavier.
- Length: polar bear is 2.7× longer.
- Height: polar bear is 3.1× taller.
- Lifespan: polar bear is 2.5× a longer life.

## What this does and does not tell you

These are measured averages with real ranges behind them, and every figure links to its own page. What they cannot do is settle an encounter. Outcomes between animals turn on circumstance — who initiates, whether either is hungry, defending young, injured or cornered, and what the terrain favours. Size and bite force are not decisive on their own, and most of these pairs never meet in the wild in any case, because their ranges do not overlap.

> Every figure here is an average with a substantial spread. Individual animals vary enormously — a large individual of the smaller species routinely exceeds a small individual of the larger one.

## Common questions

### Is a polar bear bigger than a wolverine?

polar bear is heavier — 150–700 kg against 8–25 kg.

### Who would win, a polar bear or a wolverine?

That is not something measurements can settle. The comparison above shows which animal leads on each measure, but an actual encounter depends on circumstance, motivation, health and terrain — and most pairs like this never meet in the wild.

## Related pages

- [How much does a polar bear weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/polar-bear/)
- [How much does a wolverine weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/wolverine/)
- [lion vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-polar-bear/)
- [lion vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-wolverine/)
- [tiger vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/tiger-vs-wolverine/)
- [leopard vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-polar-bear/)
- [leopard vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-wolverine/)
- [jaguar vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/jaguar-vs-polar-bear/)
- [jaguar vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/jaguar-vs-wolverine/)
- [cheetah vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cheetah-vs-polar-bear/)
- [cheetah vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cheetah-vs-wolverine/)
- [cougar vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cougar-vs-polar-bear/)
- [cougar vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cougar-vs-wolverine/)
- [snow leopard vs wolverine](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/snow-leopard-vs-wolverine/)

## Sources

- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Smithsonian Institution (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/)
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]