Might the existing 9 wolves in Isle Royale fight their way back from seeming oblivion?..........Researchers are now concluding that genetic analysis of wolf excrement is revealing that up to half of the lobos are females................Will pair bonding and procreation take place?.............Are there other factors prohibiting this from successfully happening?????

4 or 5 female wolves on Isle Royale?
Will breeding take place to stop
extinction?

wtip.org

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 genetic information has identified
 additional female wolves at Isle Royale
 National Park.  The wolf population has 
been the topic of considerable debate in 
the past year.  In early 2012, observations
 from long-running research by Michigan
 Technological University suggested there
 was only one female wolf left on the island,
 raising the question of how soon wolves 
might go extinct on Isle Royale. 

  The need to further understand the
 population issue led to genetic analysis 
to decipher the number and sex of individuals
 in the actual population.   The National Park
 Service funded the majority of the analysis, 
but the popular study also attracted support
 from an internet funding initiative and a 
leading US Geological Survey scientist and 
wolf researcher, L. D. Mech.   Prior inferences
 about the number of female wolves on Isle 
Royale had been made without the benefit of
 genetic study.  The results from the genetic
 analyses, as well as field observations, suggest
 that not one, but four and possibly five females 
were present in February 2012, including some
 that had been born the previous April.

Winter study is currently underway at the Park
 and researchers are updating information on
 trends in the population.  Lead Michigan Tech
 researcher John Vucetich commented, “genetic
considerations and tools, like those used to
 estimate sex ratio, continue to yield considerable
 insights about this population’s  status.”   Isle
Royale National Park Chief of Natural Resources
Paul Brown added, “we are still a ways off from
 making any decisions about the future management
 of wolves on the island, but these results are very
 encouraging.  We remain concerned about the
 overall long-term health of the population and
 this new information paints a very different picture
 than what we thought last year.  The results of this
 year’s winter study will be factored in with the
 genetics information during our on-going
review of the situation. “

The National Park Service is concerned the trends
 generated by climate change have the potential to
 trigger extinctions and isolation of many species
across public lands entrusted into the agency’s care.
  In fact, Isle Royale is in the process of trying to
 establish whether it has lost two species of fish
(Ciscos) that were endemic to deep and formerly
 cold water inland lakes.  A national team facilitated
 by the Park Superintendent has been assembled
to review climate change scenarios and a series of
potential effects on wolves and other species at Isle
 Royale.

 As the team progresses, information about their
work will be available on the Park website,
www.nps.gov/isro. People who are interested in
commenting on this situation can contact the park
via mail or email at ISRO_Wildlife@nps.gov.
There will be additional opportunities this year
for the public to provide input to the discussion
 of climate change effects and  planning for the
 future of wolves on Isle Royale.