TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - A scientist says one of the few remaining gray wolves of Isle Royale National Park has been found dead after escaping to the mainland across a Lake Superior ice bridge.
Michigan Technological University biologist Rolf Peterson tells The Associated Press on Tuesday that the 5-year-old female's body was discovered this month along the lakeshore on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in northeastern Minnesota.
Peterson says the wolf wore a radio collar and its serial numbers confirmed her identity. Scientists had nicknamed her "Isabelle."
The cause of her death is unknown. Peterson says she apparently wasn't shot. She was wounded last year in attacks by other wolves.
Scientists hoped that mainland wolves would migrate to Isle Royale across ice bridges this winter but none have. The island's population now totals nine.
