Not as it first appeared
18-20 Jan
Winter Study
notes from the field
 
 
18 Jan – It was good that we woke before dark and took flight at first light.  What began as thick, heavy clouds became snow.  Within two hours we were back at the bunkhouse drinking hot cocoa.
      In that short flight, we did see Middle Pack wolves, each curled up and asleep by the shoreline of Siskiwit Lake in nearly same place we had seen them yesterday.  
      We also saw 9(!) wolves sleeping near the remains of a dead moose just NW of Harvey Lake.  Yesterday, we saw wolves sleeping on Beaver Lake – thinking they were Paduka Pack (PP); and wolves traveling SW toward Harvey Lake – thinking they were Chippewa Harbor Pack (CHP) wolves.  We did think at the time that these two groups were a little close to each other, given they were competing packs; and we thought CHP was a little deep into what had been PP territory.
    Now it seems that both groups had been Chippewa Harbor Pack wolves.  We also now wonder if Paduka Pack even exists any more – last year they numbered only three wolves.  
 
19 Jan – Yesterday we discovered an unexpected need for repairs to our plane, the Flagship.  The US Forest Service flew us a mechanic to make temporary repairs.  Then Don flew our dear Flagship back to the mainland.  Hopefully, that won’t cost us too much time.
      Beth and Dieter also arrived on the flight from the mainland.  For the next month they ski and snowshoe as many miles as they can manage to collect a variety of data.  Most importantly, they’ll collect yellow snow (urine) and pellets (poop) of moose.  We use these samples to determine the diet and nutritional status of moose.  We also extract DNA from the pellets.  From the DNA we can tell males from females, and from the pellets of females we can determine pregnancy rates of the moose population.
      Without a chance to fly, Rolf and I felt a bit without purpose.  
      The frozen harbor we land on had become a sea snow drifts that were hard as cement.  These are pretty tough on the plane’s landing gear.  So Rolf and I prepared a runway on the ice – clear of drifts and marked with spruce branches.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20 Jan – Don continued to tend the Flagship on the mainland   Beth and Dieter worked all day collecting pellets and urine.  They got samples from about 5 different moose.  Rolf and I finished the runway – one running roughly east-west and one running roughly north-south.  Isle Royale in winter is magic, but a little less so without Don or the Flagship.  With good fortune, he’ll return tomorrow.
 
 
.
Middle Pack leaving Siskiwit Lake through a swamp that feeds that lake.  We believe the grey-colored wolf on the right is the alpha male.  This may be his fourth year as an alpha wolf, but we’re awaiting genetic analysis to confirm that detail.  We have not yet identified the alpha female, but whoever she is, this is her first year as alpha.
.