A new report says wolves relocated to Isle Royale National Park appear to be adapting to the island.
Using tracking collars placed on wolves brought the island researchers have been able to study the wolves - including the kind of animals they’ve preyed on.
There are currently 17 wolves on the island.
Liz Valencia is with Isle Royale National Park. She said through the tracking collars, researchers were able to test scat and visit regions where the wolves have been.
“It showed that they were eating mostly moose but also a lot of beavers and it gave the researchers a chance to really see what they are focusing on, where they are spending time on the island.”
Valencia said the hope was that wolves could help keep moose populations in check.
“We were hoping that the wolves would be able to figure out how to bring down moose and it looks like they did.”
According to Valencia, preliminary information from researchers also suggests the wolves are forming packs.
“What they are able to do is figure out if there are wolves in the same place at the same time and it actually looks like there have been. We’re excited about the possibility of a potential pack forming.”
Valencia said there are no immediate plans to bring more wolves to Isle Royale - although the park hopes eventually to have 20-30 wolves on the island.