study done on Isle Royale National Park after NPS and MDNR transplant wolves

[homers]

Isle Royale was initially habited by caribou, no wolf, no moose. Moose swam to the island in the early 1900's. Hunting and parasites from the moose eliminated the caribou. Around 1950, the first wolf showed up, probably walking across the ice from MN. That started the long running predator prey study by Michigan Tech. The wolf population had a inbreeding problem and the powers to be decided to introduce new genetic material a few years ago. Not sure what is left to study and the predator prey population cycles are very well understood.

 

[WesternCO68]

Not sure how you define historically but the island has had wolves and moose for a long time. Research on their relationship going back to the late 1950s I believe, started by Durward Allen and carried on by his students.

Climate change and many years with no ice bridge to the mainland started to influence that.

They had a chance to let that change play itself out and document what happens...which would have been a very powerful, impactful story I believe....but instead decided to intervene.

My understanding (what I was taught at Michigan Tech unless my memory is playing tricks on me) is that the moose and wolves arrived in the 20th century. If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me.

 

[atlas]

Not sure how you define historically but the island has had wolves and moose for a long time. Research on their relationship going back to the late 1950s I believe, started by Durward Allen and carried on by his students.

Climate change and many years with no ice bridge to the mainland started to influence that.

They had a chance to let that change play itself out and document what happens...which would have been a very powerful, impactful story I believe....but instead decided to intervene.

yeah not that long. Only caribou until the 1920s, no wolves just lynx

 

[SaskHunter]

I don't care who you pray too, buddy.

Who said man isn't part of this? Our entire history is replete with man's hand from tribes using fire to the propagation of animals for food - we are an integral part of this world.

You brought god into this, buddy.

Tribes using fire and shouting "ooga-booga", chasing animals to survive and poking them with pointy sticks is a far stretch from aerial delivery of prepators plucked around several States and Provinces. I also never said man wasn't part of this so not sure what you're going on about...

Both moose and wolves came to the island on their own but humans decided to introduce more wolves to devercify the pack(s). Sounds like "God" had a plan for those wolves and we decided to get involved!

 

[Blowdowner]

Nature is bloody, cruel and violent.

Humans prefer cozy and cute.

Funny how we celebrate the lion taking down the wildebeest, but mourn the same thing at home.

Wildlife live and die by blood and violence. Swings in populations are part of the natural order, made by God. Places like Isle Royale remind us that not everything that is natural is easy or level.

Moose will die off, then the wolf population will follow. This is how he made it.

Incredibly cracked reasoning but nicely glazed with eloquence

 

[Ben Lamb]

Incredibly cracked reasoning but nicely glazed with eloquence

This also describes one of my peppered fish dishes.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Tribes using fire and shouting "ooga-booga", chasing animals to survive and poking them with pointy sticks is a far stretch from aerial delivery of prepators plucked around several States and Provinces. I also never said man wasn't part of this so not sure what you're going on about...

This is pretty silly and dismissive of what native populations did in terms of habitat mgt to select preferred species, etc. Which is the point: Humans have been pre-selecting species for favor, location, etc since we decided to sit around a fire together.

 

[Perlodid]

Worth keeping in mind that I'm pretty sure there were no major wolf inbreeding issues or consistent population declines on the island until canine parvovirus was introduced around 1980, presumably from someone's domestic dog. So it's not like some totally pure experiment ran its course and wolves were about to go extinct on the island without external human influences. I could be wrong, but I believe that was part of the justification for adding more wolves recently.