Female shortage endangers wolf population on island

In these Feb. 10, 2006, file photos provided by Michigan Technological University,gray wolves are shown on Isle Royale National Park in northern Michigan. An advance copy of a wolf-tracking report obtained by AP shows the number of gray wolves at Isle Royale National Park is down to 16, the lowest number since the late 1990s, and there may be only one or two females left. (AP Photo/Michigan Technological University, John Vucetich) 

 

Female shortage endangers wolves

By JOHN FLESHER

The Associated Press 

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Scientists tell The Associated Press the wolves of Isle Royale National Park may go extinct because they are dangerously short of females.

Wildlife biologists John Vucetich and Rolf Peterson of Michigan Tech University say they counted 16 gray wolves on the Lake Superior island this year — and just two at most are adult females.
The overall wolf population is the lowest since 1998, when it was 14.
Unless the females successfully raise pups before dying, the entire population could disappear. Their plight raises the question of whether the park should bring in more wolves.
The population has averaged about 23 since wolves migrated to Isle Royale from the Canadian mainland in the late 1940s.
Scientists have studied their predator-prey relationship with the island's moose for more than a half-century.
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March 29, 2011
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