TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Scientists say the number of gray wolves at Isle Royale National Park has dropped to three — the fewest since biologists began studying the population on the Lake Superior island chain in the 1950s. Researchers with Michigan Technological University released their annual report on the park’s wolves and moose Friday. They said the wolf count has continued a sharp decline since 1989, when it stood at 24. It was nine last year. Study leaders Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich spend nearly two months at the park every winter observing the animals. They’ve called repeatedly for park officials to bring more wolves to the island to replenish the gene pool. The report says the moose population has risen to 1,250 as the number of wolves to prey on them has plummeted.
