Midwest

Wolf population on remote island on Lake Superior remain stable while moose numbers decline

Published

2 weeks ago

May 2, 2024

Researchers forced to cut short an annual survey of wildlife on a remote Lake Superior island this winter due to unusually warm weather announced Tuesday that they managed to gather data that shows the wolf population is stable.

Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre island situated in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The park is a wildlife biologist’s dream, offering a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose acting naturally without human influence.

Scientists have conducted an annual survey of the island’s wolves and moose since 1958. It’s been going on every year except for 2021, when the pandemic forced researchers to cancel.

RARE GRAY WOLF KILLED DURING HUNT IN MICHIGAN, OFFICIALS LAUNCH INVESTIGATION

Researchers typically conduct aerial surveys of the island to develop population estimates and observe animal behavior. The island doesn’t have a landing strip so the scientists use skiplanes that can land on the ice surrounding it.

A wildlife survey on a remote Lake Superior island shows that the wolf population is stable, but the moose have declined nearly 60% in the last 4 years. Photographed: National Park Service photographed a 4-year-old female gray wolf emerging from her cage as she is released at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. (National Park Service via AP, File)

A team led by Michigan Tech University researchers was two weeks into this year’s seven-week survey in January when unusually warm temperatures left the ice around the island unsafe for their planes to land. They were forced to evacuate the island and could not return.

Data the team gathered before they left shows the wolf population stands at 30 animals, down from 31 animals last year but up from 28 in the winter of 2022. The scientists said they believe the wolves have divided themselves into four packs, with one pack numbering at least 13 wolves. At least one wolf appeared to be living alone.

The moose population, meanwhile, stood at 840, down 14% from last year. Overall, the moose population has declined by almost 60% since 2019, when the population peaked at a little more than 2,000 animals.

In past years, most moose died from starvation, the scientists said. Moose can eat up to 40 pounds of vegetation daily and with low wolf numbers, the population grew unchecked and the creatures ate themselves out of food. But this year’s decline is likely linked to wolf predation, they said.

And fewer moose are having calves, the team said. Less than 6% of the moose the researchers observed this winter were calves. That’s higher than last year’s estimate of 2%, but still far below the long-term average of 13%.

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Michigan

2025 four-star OL Michael Carroll includes Michigan in top 4

Published

16 mins ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

2025 four-star OL Michael Carroll includes Michigan in top 4

We’ve seen the Michigan Wolverines prioritize smash football and target talented offensive line in Sherrone Moore’s first off-season as head coach, and a top target for Michigan just included the reigning National Champs in his top 4.

On Saturday afternoon, On3 National recruiting expert Hayes Fawcett reported that Michigan was in the top 4 for four-star 2025 offensive linemen Michael Carroll, along with Penn State, Georgia and Alabama.

On the 247 Composite, Carroll, a native of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, is ranked just outside the top 200 in the 2025 class, along with 11th among interior offensive linemen and eighth among recruits from his home state.

Carroll made an impromptu visit to Michigan this past Fall the day after the Michigan State win, and he got the chance to meet head coach Sherrone Moore and offensive line coach Grant Newsome in a recent spring visit. If the four-star linemen were to commit to Michigan, he’d be the second O-Line commit in the class, joining four-star in-state OL Avery Gach.

Carroll’s interest in Michigan is not a surprise, considering the Wolverines have garnered a reputation as being a place for young offensive linemen to develop into NFL players, all while dominating in the trenches en route to a ton of success over the last three seasons.

“They were completely dominant,” Carroll said about Michigan after that visit. “They were extremely explosive and powerful out of their stances. When I was at Michigan’s camp, that’s one thing coach Moore taught me. Seeing them do it was special. I could see myself fitting in there as a guard.”

Carroll said an interview with The Wolverine last month ($) that Michigan is “up there with Alabama, Georgia and a couple of others right now.” There’s not a clear timeline for when he’ll make a decision, but we’ll keep you updated as his recruitment continues.

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Minnesota

INTERVIEW: Minnesota Soul Festival

Published

23 mins ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Minnesota’s first-ever Soul Festival is happening next Saturday and celebrates Minnesota soul in all its forms with music, dance, art and more.

On Saturday morning, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS anchor Leah McClean sat down with Alfred Babington-Johnson, the Founder and CEO of Stairstep Foundation—the organization that’s presenting the festival—to talk about the event.

The event will be at US Bank Stadium on Saturday, May 25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and admission is free.

For more information on the Minnesota Soul Festival click HERE.

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Missouri

Missouri softball live score updates vs. Indiana in NCAA Columbia Regional

Published

32 mins ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

Missouri softball live score updates vs. Indiana in NCAA Columbia Regional

The rest of Missouri softball’s regional games have a simple picture: Win or hang up the bats for the season.

Missouri, which is the No. 7 national seed and host of the NCAA Columbia Regional, will face Indiana in an elimination game Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Softball Stadium. The Tigers lost against Omaha in their opener, and now must win four straight games to make a super regional.

More: Missouri softball stunned by Omaha in NCAA Columbia Regional opener

Regional 2-seed Washington and No. 4-seed Omaha were facing off in the winner’s bracket for a direct berth in Sunday’s championship. Missouri, in order to extend its season by another day, must eliminate Indiana and then defeat the loser of the Huskies-Washington matchup later Saturday.

Missouri, coached by Larissa Anderson since 2019, reached the championship in the 2024 SEC Softball Tournament, knocking off Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU before falling to Florida in the title game. The Tigers, who are 43-16 this season, have more wins than in any other season under Anderson.

Mizzou last advanced to an NCAA Super Regional in 2021, when the Tigers fell to James Madison. MU has fallen in the regional round every other season in Anderson’s tenure.

Mizzou’s bats went cold in a 3-1, extra-inning loss to Omaha on Friday evening, which means the Tigers are now on the brink of another season ending at the regional stage.

The NCAA Columbia Regional started Friday and will run through Sunday, when the championship will be played. You can find live score updates from Missouri’s elimination game against the Hoosiers here:

More: Missouri softball coach explains what went wrong in shocking loss to Omaha in NCAA Regional