2 wolves make journey from mainland to Isle Royale park

摘要

Two gray wolves have been relocated from the Minnesota mainland to Isle Royale National Park, kicking off a multiyear effort to restore the species on the Lake Superior island chain, officials said yesterday. The National Park Service said a 4-year-old female and a 5-year-old male were flown to the park Wednesday from the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. They were released separately in locations well away from the territory of two aging wolves already there. The female quickly left her crate and began exploring her new surroundings, while the male did likewise after dark. "Releasing these two wolves on the island is the first step to restoring the ecological dynamic in the park," Superintendent Phyllis Green said. Plans call for moving four additional wolves to the park this fall and building the population to 20 to 30 over the next few years, restoring numbers that would enable the wily predators to keep the island's abundant moose herd in check as they did for decades after arriving in the late 1940s (Greenwire. March 16).