Wolves that nearly died out from inbreeding recovered, now helping a remote island’s ecosystem
Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after authorities began a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from dying out on the Lake Superior island chain, scientists said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the park’s moose population continues a sharp but needed decline. Overpopulation of the lumbering mammals were causing their own starvation as they outstripped available balsam fir trees – their primary food during long, snowbound winters, Michigan Technological University biologists said.
