Isle Royale Wolf Population Might Be Saved

Conservation efforts are being made to save the Isle Royale wolf population.

Managers of the Isle Royale National Park started to consider introducing thirty gray wolves because this predator species is threatened. The officials have three other options, and one of them involves relocating maximum 15 wolves to the park and many other over two decades.

Another option is to do nothing at the moment. Last but not least, the managers might do nothing to facilitate the recovery of the gray wolves. In this case, this species will disappear from the Isle Royale National Park because their numbers dropped down to just two inbred specimens over the past few years.

The four options are included in a report developed by researchers from the National Park Service, outside consultants, and other staff members. The officials will publicly announce their final decision after the three-month comment period which ends on the 15^th of March.

Unfortunately, gray wolves are not endemic to the Isle Royale National Park. Furthermore, other species, including the lynx and caribou spent a longer period in this area before they were wiped out.

Wildlife biologists believe that the first gray wolves arrived at the Isle Royale area in the 1940s, after crossing the 15-mile surface of the frozen lake. Also, they might have come from Ontario or Minnesota too.

Most campers and visitors underline that this mysterious species must be preserved. Although this animal is widely popular, the managers said that they wouldn’t take this fact into consideration. They explained that they need to assess the advantages and disadvantages of introducing several gray wolves into the Isle Royale National Park.

Regardless of their decision, wolves have always had a major role in any given ecosystem. Starting from the 1920s, the experts believe that wolves have occasionally roamed in the park, especially during cold winters where the food was scarce.

As such, their presence in the park might have refreshed the gene pool. Still, the scientists underline that inbreeding had some long-term consequences as well. It is worth mentioning that the moose population has increased over the past few years as there are over 1,200 specimens in the park.

In other words, the wildlife biologists point to the fact that the gray wolves would keep the moose numbers in check and prevent them from damaging the trees of the Isle Royale National Park.

Image Source:Wikipedia

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Karen Jackson

Karen Jackson has always been passionate about technology. All the way through high-school she immersed herself in computers and web-design. Her ambitious nature helped her become a pro in Adobe Photoshop only by watching online videos and working with the program herself. This is also the program that she mostly uses in the creation of websites at her work-place. Technological innovation and gadgets that push the boundaries of what we are comfortable with have always fascinated her, so expect to see some weird gadget reviews coming from her.