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Isle Royale ecosystem tested by environmental changes

Wikimedia Commons

The moose is one of the largest and most elusive land animals in North America. Moose were once found in both the Upper and Lower Peninsula, and now they’re concentrated in a few isolated areas of the state.

In recent years, scientists have watched an alarming drop in the moose population in Michigan and Minnesota. One possible explanation may be an increase in winter ticks, parasites that feed on the blood of moose, elk and caribou.

Paul Brown, Chief of Natural Resources at Isle Royale National Park, says Michigan has about 1,500 moose, and 1,000 of them on on Isle Royale.

 

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