According to the National Parks Service, one of the wolves transported to Isle Royale as part of a relocation effort has died.
This is the second wolf connected to the relocation effort that has died. Officials say the first wolf died in transport to the island likely due to an anesthesia-related problem.
Liz Valencia is with the National Parks Service. She said a collar monitoring the wolf's vitals seemed to be sending mixed signals.
“So we knew it was malfunctioning but then when the tracker, the GPS tracks, were showing it was located in one spot then the park staff who were looking at it said ‘this could mean it really is a mortality signal.”’
Valencia said park officials investigated the GPS tracker and found the wolf had died - but it’s not clear why.
“They said there was no obvious signs of death, no signs of injury, the coat looked good. They really don’t know.”
Valencia said officials will perform a necropsy to determine what happened to the wolf.
The wolf was the only male brought to the island as part of the first phase of the relocation effort.
She said the Parks Service is working to bring an additional four wolves from Canada to the island later this winter.