Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Two wolves moved from mainland to Isle Royale

Instead of letting nature take its course, the Federal Government is going to intervene.

https://apnews.com/49e7ac6f98bf4cab9db1d0049fe9b9c3

September 27, 2018

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Two gray wolves have been relocated from the Minnesota mainland to Isle Royale National Park, kicking off a multiyear effort to restore the species on the Lake Superior island chain, officials said Thursday.

The National Park Service said a 4-year-old female and a 5-year-old male were flown to the park Wednesday from the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. They were released separately in locations well away from the territory of two aging wolves already there.

The female quickly left her crate and began exploring her new surroundings, while the male did likewise after dark.

“Releasing these two wolves on the island is the first step to restoring the ecological dynamic in the park,” Superintendent Phyllis Green said.

Plans call for moving four additional wolves to the park this fall and building the population to 20 to 30 over the next few years, restoring numbers that would enable the wily predators to keep the island’s abundant moose herd in check as they did for decades after arriving in the late 1940s.

Scientists believe the wolves crossed ice bridges from northeastern Minnesota or the Canadian province of Ontario to the park, an archipelago nearly 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the mainland.

Their numbers rose as high as 50 but generally ranged in the low- to mid-20s before crashing in recent years.

Some fell victim to accidents or diseases. But researchers with Michigan Technological University say the biggest problem was abnormalities resulting from inbreeding, as a warming lake surface has frozen over less often in winter, giving mainland wolves fewer opportunities to cross over, mate and freshen the gene pool.

Meanwhile, the moose population has reached about 1,500. Park managers say if the surge continues, they could overeat trees and shrubs, potentially damaging the ecosystem. Officials decided to intervene when the wolves failed to bounce back on their own, despite the usual policy of letting nature take its course in federally designated wilderness areas.

The two newcomers, each weighing about 75 pounds (34 kilograms), were caught by trappers Tuesday and held overnight for a veterinary exam, vaccinations and fitting with tracking collars.

The transfer went smoothly despite gusty winds and heavy cloud cover that raised questions about whether the floatplane could make the trip, park spokeswoman Liz Valencia said.

“Finally we got a window of good weather and had to hurry up and get the wolves ready to go,” Valencia said. “Fortunately, we didn’t run out of daylight.”

Managers hope the other wolves to be taken to the island this fall will come from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as well as Minnesota to enhance genetic diversity, she said.

The park service said it will evaluate the project’s success by monitoring moose kill rates, genetics, wolf-to-moose ratios and vegetation conditions, among other factors.

Fucgking idiots

You heard about the female that they captured died?

Who's funding this sh it?

Minnesota? Michigan? The Feds?

There goes the neighborhood.

horse turds soaked in antifreeze.

If they don't bring in wolves, what do you do about the moose population? It's a national park, so no hunting.

Probably our sportsmens Pittman-Robertson tax dollars.

Absolutely, "The Experiment" they did on Isle Royale was the most evil experiment with wildlife I have ever known of. I'm no fan of the wolf but damn.

They want the moose population under control they should open it up to hunters.

they're just dickin around, to no purpose

exactly !

Nothing more than a playground for a couple of wolf "experts" with a PhD...

Grand Teton is a National Park and hunting Elk has been allowed for decades and decades to control the Elk population. The Feds can make adjustments, it seems they don't want to in this case. Feeding the moose to wolves is a piss poor decision. Let licensed hunters bring the moose population back to the carrying capacity and MAKE money doing it, instead of wasting money and resources bringing wolves back in. Like they did in Yellowstone.

One wolf didn't make it.https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/09/29/isle-royale-wolf-dies/

Michigan bobbles then F's up every matter when it comes to wildlife and conservation. We're the laughing stock of the Midwest.

Who says "no hunting". A shame to waste that much good meat. Any biologist that would tell the truth would advise killing a bunch of female moose. At least as many or more females than the male harvest. Could be a good revenue source for the state and the hunting could be stopped at any time if there was too much of a population decline. The animal rights advocates could console themselves with the fact that human hunter harvest is much more humane and easier to control than harvest by roving packs of dogs.

Finally, we are able to drop our wolf population. Now, time to ship off some more to points south and east.

I think they need five or six dozen moved to Central Park NY.

Few if any parks us or state allow hunting.
What “experiment”? The previous population was “natural”, via immigration and worked well except for the inbreeding.

They should drop a few dozen wolves in there every couple years. Prevent inbreeding and lessen pops elsewhere!

Establish a Gofundwolves for all the wolf lovers to contribute their bleeding heart Bambi funds to. 😜

I personally believe Times Square would work.