Thirty killer wolves wanted by Isle Royale National Park. These wild wolves are needed to kill moose which are over-browsing the island, disrupting the balance of nature, according to park managers.
Neither wolves nor moose are indigenous to Isle Royale. Moose arrived in 1905. Wolves arrived in the early 1950s.
Without predators the moose herd exploded to about 3,000 animals by 1930 and rapidly over-browsed, threatening their own existence. Scientists from Purdue University and Michigan Technological University imported four wolves from the Detroit Zoo to control the moose population.
A few weeks later the wolves had to be killed for molesting campers. So much for store-bought wolves. Shortly after, a natural pack of undetermined numbers crossed to the island over an ice bridge from Canada. The natural wolves’ relatives survived until recently, leaving the M.T.U. scientists without wolves to study.
Upper Peninsula businesses felt the loss in tourist dollars because of the absence of their star attractions and they petitioned the Park Service to buy more wolves to keep the charade going.
Remember: Isle Royale is supposed to be a primeval wilderness without the hand of man on it. But the hands of scientists, students, U.P. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Park Service continue to meddle instead of manage the island ecosystem.
The wild wolves become pretend wolves in their captive state on Isle Royale. The main moose/wolf study is over after 60 years of pretending. Now they want to do it again with another pack of pretend wolves.
But I suppose if Isle Royale National Park is just a pretend wilderness “theme park,” what difference does it make?
Howard Sivertson
Grand Marais
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