Only 3 Wolves Remain at the Isle Royale National Park; Inbreeding and Illness Responsible for Low Population

The gray wolves at the Isle Royale National Park are close to extinction, with only 3 of them left wandering in the park now. The scientists have been closely studying these animals since almost 50 years, in addition to the moose which they eat.

The scientists believe that the main cause which has led to the endangering of these animals is inbreeding and illness, states Discovery. 24 wolves were present during 2009, but the number has sharply declined over the years. The scientists have urged the park service authority to bring in more wolves to the park so their vast study on the prey-predator relationship in a closed eco system could be continued easily, states Holland Sentinel.

The current population of the wolves at the park consists of one mating pair and a small pup wolf; all of which are heavily inbred. These 3 are the only feeble hope left for the park authorities and the scientists to have a shot at completing their studies, if they don't find more wolves for the park soon.

The scientists will either have to stop their studies if any of these 3 wolves die, or start with a totally new batch of wolves, which means they will have to restart and redo all the work they have done in the past 50 years.

The park authorities have said that new wolves have arrived to the park in the past, during the winter season and for mating purposes. Hence, they are expecting that it will be repeated and the park might get new wolves this year as well. Last year, a pair of wolves had visited the park all the way from Canada but had chosen not to stay there; in addition to this, 6 island wolves had disappeared just last year.