Poop Reveals Immigrant Wolf on Isolated Island

The wolves of Isle Royale in Lake Superior have been studied by scientists for more than 50 years, but they’re still learning new tricks. The scientists discovered a new immigrant in the population by analyzing the genes in its poop.

The scientists, John Vucetich and Rolf Peterson, of Michigan Technological University, long thought that the wolves were an isolated group, because no other wolves could make it onto the island, located in Lake Superior. The wolf, called The Old Gray Guy crossed an ice bridge onto the island in 1997.

Before this discovery, the Isle Royale wolf population had been considered completely isolated since it was founded in the late 1940s, Vucetich said in a statement — via redwolf.newsvine.com