Island Study Is Good News for Wolves, Bad for Moose

Wolves on a remote island in Lake Superior appear to be thriving, but they're making deep dents in the moose population they rely on as a food source, according to a report released Monday. A team led by scientists at Michigan Tech University conducted a survey on Isle Royale and estimated the island's wolf population at 37, up from 30 in 2024, per the AP. The figure is the highest since the late 1970s and represents a marked improvement since the population dwindled to just two wolves a decade ago. The island's moose population, however, is declining dramatically. This year's survey put the population at 524 moose, down 75% from a high of 2,000 in 2019.

Wolves likely killed almost a quarter of the moose population over the last year, scientists estimated. For the first time in almost 70 years, researchers observed no moose calves during the winter survey. Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre national park in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. It's seen as a unique natural laboratory, offering scientists a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose largely free from human influence. Researchers have conducted wolf and moose population surveys on the island since 1958.