Currently only 2 females wolves exist on Michigan’s Isle Royale the famous isolated island in Lake Superior.  This island which for over 40 years has been studied by biologist worldwide because of the predator prey relationship of the island’s moose and wolves.

Wolves first came to the island in 1950 which before than was home to only  moose, and other smaller mammals. Now after 4 decades the wolf looks to go extinct on this island after years of low moose populations.

For the wolf haters out there this is proof enough that wolves don’t kill everything in site.  If wolves were the blood thirsty game killers that many make them out to be, then wolves would have eliminated the moose on Isle Royal decades ago. Yes wolves have played a role in the decline of moose on the island but ticks, and harsh weather has also played huge role in the moose decline.

Moose populations are expected to rebound on the island in the next few years which hopefully will safe the wolves who live there as well. What is funny is that if the wolf does go extinct on the island the moose will still be there.  So much for idea of wolves killing everything huh?

News Article

I came across this amazing illustration of a bull moose being attacked by wolves as I was looking for moose related stuff on Google. The Illustration by Frederick Shoberl was done in 1834, and was included in the book The Natural History of Quadrupeds.

What I love about this illustration is the uniqueness and attention to detail(you can see the cross hatching), as well as the story it tells. The eyes of the moose clearly reveal  how this story will end, which for the moose is on the wolves dinner plate. However this moose is not going down with a fight as if you look closely at the picture you will see a wolf who is on the wrong side of the moose’s antlers, as well as a wolf being kicked by the bull’s back leg.

Very rarely do I come across a moose piece of art that I could honestly say, “I would hang that in my house”, this illustration is the exception. I may not be able to hang it in the living room because frankly, my wife wouldn’t allow it. She would however maybe allow me to hang it in the family room or the spare bedroom. Regardless of where it could go in my house, I love this moose illustration.

Moose calves in Alaska have it rough from day one. From the moment they enter this world the odds are stacked against them. Lets take a look at the numbers, because if you want some jaw dropping statistics get ready to be floored.

Biologists in Alaska estimate that 120,000 moose calves will be born throughout Alaska by early June. Of those 120,000, 90,000 will be not make it through their first year. Of those 90,000, 80,000 will fall to predators like wolves, grizzly and black bears. The remaining 9,000 will die from either starvation, abandonment, disease and drowning.  40,000 of those calves will not live through their first 6 weeks.

Lets put this into perspective so we can see how much 90,000 really is. Wembley Stadium in London seats 90,000 people, FedEx Field in Washington DC sits over 90,000. Anyway you put it, that is alot of  dead moose calves.

Why do I bring this up, because this is a perfect example of mother nature at her finest.  Survival of the fittest at work in Alaska. Now before you get upset that so many babies are dying, remember that 30,000 moose calves will survive their first year and those 30,000 surviving moose will add the already strong moose population of Alaska.

Read article here.

Moose populations in the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming has declined alarmingly in the past 10 years and predators (namely the wolf) might not all be to blame.  Joel Berger, a professor of wildlife conservation from the University of Montana who has studied the moose for over 15 years  says that while bears and wolves do impact the  moose populations.  Population decline might also be attributed the number of cow moose baring less twins then in past decades.  Their research has also shown that cow moose in particular are not getting the adequate amount of vitamins and minerals which may lead to low birthrates and a higher calf and cow mortality rate.  What we do know is that regardless of what is to blame, moose population in this part of the state of Wyoming are declining at a surprising rate.

This is an fascinating article check it out here