Bull Moose, Winter Study 2026

Photo Credit: Sarah Hoy

In this Issue

It is the end of March, the end of winter, and there is a lot going on. Winter Study, the Winter Seminar Series, and Moosewatch are just around the corner.

The scientists only recently completed the Winter Study and have left Isle Royale. It will be fun to hear what they learned and what the estimated numbers are for the wolves and moose on the island. How have they been faring? How many wolf packs are there?

Our annual Winter Seminar Series, with two sessions down and one to go, wraps up on Tuesday, April 7, when John Vucetich of the Wolf-Moose Project will discuss Wolves and the Endangered Species Act. Sign up here. These virtual presentations have been a success, entertaining and informative, and they will definitely be back in 2027. Remember, donors have access to recordings of each of these presentations from this year and last.

And a biggie for many of us Wolf-Moose people is Moosewatch. The first wave of volunteers will hit the island on May 9, just about six weeks from now. I expect those first volunteers will encounter ice and snow on the ground given the recent weather, which has brought a boatload of snow. They will have GPS coordinates generated from the Winter Study to guide their search. They can also do it in some new Moosewatch clothing we’ve developed in collaboration with our friend Matt Brass of Smoky Outfitters. Thank you, Matt.

Moosewatch 2026 logo, artwork by Matt Brass

Amid all of this, we are working behind the scenes, supporting the Wolf-Moose Project and preparing projects for the spring and summer. You can expect another photography contest and a new fundraising effort later this summer.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.

By Jeffrey Holden

Part 2: The Capture of Wolves from Four Locations and their Introduction to Isle Royale

This is the second article in a three-part series explaining the wolf situation on Isle Royale. 

In the previous article, we discussed how disease, inbreeding, climate change, and random events had brought the Isle Royale wolf population to the brink of extirpation. 

In 2015, the National Park Service began determining whether and how to relocate wolves to Isle Royale to preserve and protect the isolated wolf population. Four possible alternatives were considered: 

• Alternative A: No Action
• Alternative B: Immediate Limited Introduction
• Alternative C: Immediate Introduction with Potential Supplemental Introductions
• Alternative D: No Immediate Action with Allowance for Future Action

After much consideration, Alternative B: Immediate Limited Introduction, was selected, and is summarized by the NPS as:

Under Alternative B, between 20 and 30 wolves with a wide genetic diversity would be introduced to the island. Wolves would be supplemented as needed up to the third year after initial introduction. After the third year, should an unforeseen event occur that impacts the wolf population, such as a mass die-off or introduction of disease, and the goals of the alternative are not being met due to this event, wolves may be supplemented for an additional two years. No additional wolves would be brought to the island after five years from the date of initial introduction.

Genetically diverse wolves were relocated from Minnesota, Ontario, and Michigan. Foothold traps, prebaited with nuisance beaver and vehicle killed white-tailed deer carcasses, were used to capture wolves in Minnesota and Michigan. In Ontario, net guns were used from helicopters. For all relocation efforts, wolves were inspected by veterinarians after capture. 

Veterinarians' Medical Examination

Photo Credit: Courtney Celley, USFWS

Before each relocation, a GPS collar, ear tags, and a passive integrated transponder (PIT) were attached to healthy wolves. Wolves that passed veterinarian inspection were transported to Isle Royale by boat or plane.   Notably, the incoming wolves were vaccinated and/or treated to protect against canine parvovirus, rabies, mange, and other afflictions that may compromise their health.

Wolf introduction occurred by hard release. This entailed releasing individuals or groups of wolves onto the island without time to acclimate in holding pens beforehand and without intensive support afterward. An example of a hard release would be releasing wolves into a suitable habitat (e.g., a beach, dock, or frozen lake) and allowing them to disperse freely. This type of release is effective in reducing the risk of wolf injury or habituation in holding pens.

The first wolves were captured on the Indian reservation of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Minnesota and relocated between September 24 and October 5, 2018. The Grand Portage wolves consisted of four wolves: one male and three females. Notably, these four wolves were essentially gifted to Isle Royale National Park by the Grand Portage Band, which bore much of the cost and effort associated with their capture, handling, and transport.

A female wolf, not included in the aforementioned totals, died soon after capture due to an adverse reaction to anesthetics used for relocation. It should be noted that relocating wildlife is a delicate procedure, and positive outcomes are not guaranteed.

First Wolf Relocation Release

Photo Credit: Jacob W. Frank / NPS

The second and third groups of wolves were captured and relocated from Ontario in February and March of 2019. This included three wolves from the mainland near Jostle Lake and eight wolves from Michipicoten Island Provincial Park in northeastern Lake Superior. The Michipicoten Island wolves had virtually eliminated the caribou population on the island and were facing starvation.

In anticipation of this prey decline, an effort in the previous year by Ontario provincial biologists and Michipicoten First Nation saw 11 caribou airlifted from Michipicoten to the Slate Islands in order to preserve this last remnant of native Lake Superior caribou.

In September 2019, two female and two male wolves were captured in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and relocated to Isle Royale. 

Interestingly, an ice bridge briefly formed between the island and the mainland during January 2019. A female wolf that had been relocated from the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in Minnesota four months earlier used this bridge to return to the mainland and the area that it had roamed before capture—yet another lesson in the unpredictability of nature.

Alpha Male from Michipicoten Island 

Photo Credit: Wolf-Moose Project

Lake Ritchie, Isle Royale

Photo Credit: Amanda Griggs

We learned something: if we can’t see our feet, we can’t see bones. We learned something else: when it’s hot and the sky is choked with smoke and we haven’t found a bone all day, sometimes we wanted to sink down into the thimbleberries and gorge ourselves. That occasional small pleasure of a berry blooming sweet on our tongues was a gift to keep us moving. And there were other gifts the island offered us: the bald eagle that soared over our camp, the moose we encountered on the trail, the sandhill cranes we surprised in the blueberry meadow that rattled their alarm and took off in creaky flight.

Blueberry Snack

Photo Credit: Yelizaveta P. Renfro 

Calico Pennant Dragonfly

Photo Credit: Amanda Griggs

But we weren’t thinking of science as we sat there on the rocks with front-row seats at the dragonfly show—or rather, we were in the show, for it was an immersive experience, an avant-garde production with the performers careening inches from our faces as if we weren’t even there, engrossed as they were in the rapture of their feasting. We rested our tired bodies inside the cavorting cloud. This frenetic dance was another gift of the island. Letting go of our aches and worries, we allowed ourselves to be held aloft in the invisible net made of the dragonflies’ exuberant flights.

Dragonfly on Lake Superior

Photo Credit: Amanda Griggs

On May 13, 2024, the Shannon brothers’ group from Moosewatch Team One made an extraordinary find: two bull moose skeletons with locked antlers near Feldtmann Lake. Everyone on the team knew this was a rare discovery, but they had no idea it would prove to be one for the record books.

The Skulls as They Appeared When Discovered

Photo Credit: Seth Shannon

According to Dr. Rolf Peterson, approximately five percent of bull moose skulls found on Isle Royale still have polished antlers attached. Having been part of Moosewatch groups that have found antlered skulls, I can say it is quite a thrill. But discovering bull moose with locked antlers is something else entirely.

Locked Antlers Mud Lake, 1969

Photo Credit: Rolf Peterson

During autumn, the mating season also known as the rut, moose behavior differs from that during the rest of the year. Cow moose remain solitary, attracting bulls through vocalizations and the release of pheromones. Bulls often compete for access to a cow as she nears estrus, displaying their antlers and sometimes fighting. Unlike sparring, fighting is violent, and bulls may suffer injuries ranging from minor to fatal. On very rare occasions, these fights end with the antlers of two bulls locked together, resulting in the death of both animals.

During the past century on Isle Royale, only three sets of locked antlers had been found prior to the 2024 discovery. According to Dr. Peterson, one set was found in Mud Lake during the 1969 Winter Study and is now on display in the Rock Harbor Visitor Center. Another set was discovered in 1997 by an Earthwatch team led by the late Tim Pacey. The date of the third set, now on display in the Windigo Visitor Center, is unknown.

After finding the antlered skulls, Seth Shannon, Tyler Shannon, Matt Sanford, and John Warming carried them to Windigo, where they were turned over to scientists for study. By counting the cementum rings in a tooth, researchers determined the ages of the two moose. One was found to be seven years old, a prime-aged bull. The other, assigned number 5802 in the study, was determined to be 18 years old, a senescent moose above the age of ten, tying the record for the oldest antlered bull ever documented on Isle Royale, or anywhere else in the world, as far as we know.

Moose on Isle Royale die in a variety of ways. Wolves often target older moose weakened by osteoporosis, periodontitis, starvation, or osteoarthritis. Moose 5802’s skeleton, however, was found to be in remarkably good condition for its age. According to Dr. Peterson, “it had relatively little tooth wear for an aged bull (class 6 out of 9, with 9 being extremely heavy wear).” There were no signs of arthritis on the bones. Dr. Peterson also noted that “the large pedicel diameter of the 18-year-old indicates that he formerly had much larger antlers.” The exceptional health and longevity of Moose 5802 stand as a testament to the resilience and adaptability of these remarkable animals.

Based on the degree of bone weathering, Dr. Peterson estimated the year of death to be around 2017. At that time, only a single pair of highly inbred and non-reproducing wolves remained on the island, both confined to the east end and many miles from where the bulls with locked antlers were found near Feldtmann Lake. The lack of predation was likely a contributing factor in this bull’s longevity. Similarly, in 2018, the oldest cow moose ever recorded on Isle Royale lived to age 22 and ultimately died of starvation. On Isle Royale, where humans do not hunt moose, the average age at death is nine years, and the median age is twelve.

Matt Sanford with the Skulls

Photo Credit: Seth Shannon

The only other bull moose known to have reached age 18 on Isle Royale was killed by wolves; a wolf skeleton found alongside the moose’s remains suggests the bull may have killed a wolf during the struggle. That Moose 5802 survived the rigors of old age only to die battling a much younger bull is remarkable. One cannot help but wonder how many battles this bull won and, in turn, how many calves Moose 5802 ultimately sired.

By Ken Lemieux

Matt Brass is the founder of Smoky Outfitters and a creative professional with more than 20 years of experience in advertising, where he advanced from designer to Vice President of Creative before launching his own company. He now focuses on destination-inspired artwork and documentary-style photography that captures people and wild places. His work has been featured in National Parks Magazine and Street Photography Magazine.

We are honored that Matt created the Moosewatch 2026 logo, bringing his distinctive visual storytelling and sense of place to this year’s design.

Our Contact Information
*{{Organization Name}}*
*{{Organization Address}}*
*{{Organization Phone}}*
*{{Organization Website}}*

*{{Unsubscribe}}*

The Wolf-Moose Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable nonprofit organization.

Our Federal Tax Identification Number is

93-4654981.