New research suggests wolf pups have been born and there are several wolf packs on Isle Royale on Lake Superior.
The annual report about wolves and moose on Isle Royale was published Wednesday by Michigan Tech University. The report details information about the wolf and moose population on the remote island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
According to the report, in February 2023, the wolf population was likely composed of 31 wolves, an 11% increase from last year's estimate of 28 wolves.
Those wolves are spread into an east pack that has 11 wolves, a west pack that has five wolves, three groups of at least three wolves each and several others that are either loners or loosely affiliated with a smaller group.
The report also said there is evidence that pups were born into three, possibly four, litters in April 2022. According to the report, there were no litters born between 2015-2018, one litter born in 2019, two in 2020 and 2021 and possibly four in 2022. Wolves were relocated to Isle Royale between 2018 and 2019.
Researchers conducted ground-based fieldwork from early May through mid-October 2022, and also a winter study from Jan. 20 to March 7, 2023, for the report.
As for moose on the island, the estimated population is 967, which is a 28% drop from last year's estimate of 1,346 moose, which is one of the largest declines by percentage ever observed on the island. The population has dropped 54% since 2019 when it peaked around 2,000 moose.
According to researchers, the drop in moose population comes from evidence that the recruitment rate is lower and the survival of adult moose has declined in recent years.
"Wolf predation is one factor that influences both the recruitment of calves and the survival of adult moose on Isle Royale," the report reads.
According to the report, evidence suggests that in the past two years, for every moose killed by wolves, another one to three moose die from malnutrition.
"The unusually high number of moose that starved between 2019 and 2022 suggests that moose are experiencing an ongoing shortage of food," the report said.
The National Parks Service began introducing wolves back into the park in 2018 and 2019 to help combat the declining population and to restore a predator-prey relationship with the moose. Experts worry that if the moose population isn't kept in check, they will over-eat the island's plants and trees, which harms the environment and could set them up for mass starvation.
You can read the entire report below.
2022-2023 Isle Royale Wolf-Moose report by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
