Natural History Wanderings

In a recent article ScienceDaily reported on What should be done about the wolves at Isle Royale National Park, U.S.? This story grabbed by attention as I have read two of Nevada Barr’s novels (murder mysteries that take place in U.S. national Parks with a law enforcement park ranger as the main character) about Isle Royale. Isle Royale National Park’s wolf population is down to nine. There is a difference of opinion between conservationists and ethicists about whether to let nature takes its course and see what happens or to take active steps to save the wolf population on Isle Royale. ScienceDaily describes three possible actions to help preserve a wolf population:

• Wolf reintroduction — reintroducing wolves if the present wolf population were to go extinct.
• Female reintroduction — reintroducing female wolves when all present females have gone extinct.
• Genetic rescue — introducing new wolves on Isle Royale while some of the present population remains, to broaden and strengthen the gene pool.