How Do Wolves Get to a Remote Island? Ice Solves Mystery
Female's trek nails down how wolves get to the Lake Superior island home of a controversial, and dwindling, wolf pack.
For the first time, a wolf has been tracked crossing an ice bridge into northern Michigan's Isle Royale National Park—an impressive feat that might be a hopeful sign for the predator's ability to survive climate change.
On February 22, the GPS-collared wolf left her territory in eastern Minnesota's Chippewa Grand Portage Reservation and trotted 14 miles (23 kilometers)—the shortest possible distance to her destination—across the rugged Lake Superior ice to Isle Royale, a remote, forested island that's home to an unrelated wolf pack.
An uncollared companion of unknown gender came with her; the pair stayed on the island a few days before returning home on February 27, according to GPS data collected by Seth Moore, director of
