Researchers forced to cut short an annual survey of wildlife on a remote Lake Superior island this winter due to unusually warm weather announced Tuesday that they managed to gather data that shows the wolf population is stable.Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre (54,200-hectare) island situated in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The park is a wildlife biologist’s dream, offering a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose acting naturally without human influence.Scientists have conducted an annual survey of the island’s wolves and moose since 1958. It’s been going on every year except for 2021, when the pandemic forced researchers to cancel.Researchers typically conduct aerial surveys of the island to develop population estimates and observe animal behavior. The island doesn’t have a landing strip so the scientists use skiplanes that can land on the ice surrounding it.A team led by Michigan Tech University researchers was two weeks into this year’s seven-week survey in January when unusually warm temperatures left the ice around the island unsafe for their planes to land. They were forced to evacuate the island and could not return.Data the team gathered before they left shows the wolf population stands at 30 animals, down from 31 animals last year but up from 28 in the winter of 2022. The scientists said they believe the wolves have divided themselves into four packs, with one pack numbering at least 13 wolves. At least one wolf appeared to be living …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnResearchers forced to cut short an annual survey of wildlife on a remote Lake Superior island this winter due to unusually warm weather announced Tuesday that they managed to gather data that shows the wolf population is stable.Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre (54,200-hectare) island situated in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The park is a wildlife biologist’s dream, offering a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose acting naturally without human influence.Scientists have conducted an annual survey of the island’s wolves and moose since 1958. It’s been going on every year except for 2021, when the pandemic forced researchers to cancel.Researchers typically conduct aerial surveys of the island to develop population estimates and observe animal behavior. The island doesn’t have a landing strip so the scientists use skiplanes that can land on the ice surrounding it.A team led by Michigan Tech University researchers was two weeks into this year’s seven-week survey in January when unusually warm temperatures left the ice around the island unsafe for their planes to land. They were forced to evacuate the island and could not return.Data the team gathered before they left shows the wolf population stands at 30 animals, down from 31 animals last year but up from 28 in the winter of 2022. The scientists said they believe the wolves have divided themselves into four packs, with one pack numbering at least 13 wolves. At least one wolf appeared to be living …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
