+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| **Isle Royale**      |                                               |
|                      |                                               |
| +--------+--------+  |                                               |
| | ![](m  |        |  |                                               |
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| |        |        |  |                                               |
| | **Na   |        |  |                                               |
| | tional |        |  |                                               |
| | Park   |        |  |                                               |
| | Se     |        |  |                                               |
| | rvice\ |        |  |                                               |
| | U.S.   |        |  |                                               |
| | Depa   |        |  |                                               |
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| | of the |        |  |                                               |
| | Int    |        |  |                                               |
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| | **     |        |  |                                               |
| |        |        |  |                                               |
| | **Isle |        |  |                                               |
| | Royale |        |  |                                               |
| | Na     |        |  |                                               |
| | tional |        |  |                                               |
| | Park** |        |  |                                               |
| +--------+--------+  |                                               |
|                      |                                               |
| **Mammals**          |                                               |
|                      |                                               |
| ![](media/i          |                                               |
| mage2.jpeg){width="2 |                                               |
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| 222222in"}![](media/ |                                               |
| image3.jpeg){width=" |                                               |
| 2.238888888888889in" |                                               |
| height="1.9479166666 |                                               |
| 666667in"}![](media/ |                                               |
| image4.jpeg){width=" |                                               |
| 2.620138888888889in" |                                               |
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| .948611111111111in"} |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| **Few Call This      | Many common mammals found along the shores of |
| Island "Home"**      | Lake Superior are conspicuously absent from   |
|                      | Isle Royale. There are no porcupines; bear do |
|                      | not call this place home even though there    |
|                      | seems to be suitable habitat for them. Why    |
|                      | would this be?                                |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| **A Difficult        | The answer is found in what surrounds Isle    |
| Journey**            | Royale -- Lake Superior. Any mammals that     |
|                      | reach the Island must cross the Lake's icy    |
|                      | waters, a trip of at least 14 miles. Some     |
|                      | mammals are better adapted to making such a   |
|                      | crossing than others. Bats can fly over. Good |
|                      | swimmers, like moose, may swim to Isle        |
|                      | Royale. Mammals that can walk long distances, |
|                      | like the wolves, can cross Lake Superior when |
|                      | (and if) it freezes. Other mammals, like      |
|                      | bear, do not swim long distances and are      |
|                      | sound asleep through the coldest months. Some |
|                      | mammals, like porcupine stay awake all        |
|                      | winter, but would not make such a long        |
|                      | journey, especially over mile after mile of   |
|                      | nothing but ice.                              |
|                      |                                               |
|                      | Because reaching Isle Royale is so difficult, |
|                      | even mammals that can make the trip rarely do |
|                      | so. Today, only 18 species of mammals can be  |
|                      | found on Isle Royale, compared to more than   |
|                      | 40 on the surrounding mainland.               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| **A Study in         | Fewer species means fewer relationships       |
| Simplicity**         | between species. Isle Royale has only one     |
|                      | large prey species, the moose, with only one  |
|                      | predator, the wolf. This simple ecosystem     |
|                      | provides an ideal laboratory for scientists   |
|                      | to study and monitor the interactions of      |
|                      | these animals.                                |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| **Uniquely Royale**  | If you ventured to Isle Royale, you probably  |
|                      | would not get a glimpse of a wolf and you     |
|                      | might not see a moose; but almost certainly   |
|                      | you would encounter a red squirrel, scolding  |
|                      | you loudly for invading its territory. The    |
|                      | red squirrel is the most abundant mammal on   |
|                      | Isle Royale. How did a squirrel make the      |
|                      | challenging crossing to the Island? No one    |
|                      | knows for sure; but these squirrels have been |
|                      | isolated from their relatives for so long     |
|                      | that they are now considered a distinct       |
|                      | subspecies. A closer look would reveal that   |
|                      | the Isle Royale squirrel is smaller and less  |
|                      | red than its mainland counterparts, and a     |
|                      | careful listener would detect differences in  |
|                      | its vocalizations. The scientific subspecies  |
|                      | name of this animal, *regalis*, translates as |
|                      | "regal" or "kingly", appropriate for this     |
|                      | unique Isle Royale resident who behaves as if |
|                      | king of its domain.                           |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|                      |                                               |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
| **The Ever-changing  | These "kings" and other mammals of today's    |
| Web**                | Isle Royale may be gone tomorrow. Nothing     |
|                      | stays the same for very long on an island. A  |
|                      | little over a hundred years ago, a survey of  |
|                      | the Island's mammals would have resulted in a |
|                      | list quite different from the present. Wolf   |
|                      | and moose would be noticeably absent. Caribou |
|                      | would represent the large prey species while  |
|                      | coyote and lynx would serve as the predators. |
|                      | The web of life on Isle Royale is             |
|                      | ever-changing. This ecosystem may not be as   |
|                      | simple as it first appears.                   |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------+

**Mammals of Isle Royale**

  --------------------------------- --------------- ------------- -----------------------
  **MAMMAL**                        **ABUNDANCE**                 **BEHAVIOR**

  **Carnivores**                                                  

  Eastern Timber Wolf *(Canis       Rare                          Crepuscular/nocturnal
  lupus)*                                                         

  Red Fox *(Vulpes vulpes)*         Common                        Crepuscular

  Marten *(Martes americana)*       Rare                          Nocturnal

  Short-Tailed Weasel *(Mustela     Uncommon                      Nocturnal
  erminea)*                                                       

  Mink *(Mustela vison)*            Uncommon                      Nocturnal

  River Otter *(Lutra canadensis)*  Common                        Crepuscular

  **Bats**                                                        

  Little Brown Bat *(Myotis         Common                        Nocturnal
  lucifugus)*                                                     

  Northern Long-Eared Bat *(Myotis  Common                        Nocturnal
  septentrionalis)*                                               

  Big Brown Bat *(Eptesicus fucus)* Common                        Nocturnal

  Red Bat *(Lasiurus borealis)*     Uncommon                      Nocturnal

  Hoary Bat *(Lasiurus cinereus)*   Uncommon                      Nocturnal

  Silver-Haired Bat *(Lasionycteris Uncommon                      Nocturnal
  noctivagans)*                                                   

  **Rodents**                                                     

  Red Squirrel *(Tamiasciurus       Abundant                      Diurnal
  hudsonicus regalis)*                                            

  Beaver *(Castor canadensis)*      Common                        Nocturnal

  Deer Mouse *(Peromyscus           Common                        Nocturnal
  maniculatus)*                                                   

  Muskrat *(Ondatra zibethicus)*    Uncommon                      Nocturnal

  **Rabbits/Hares**                                               

  Snowshoe Hare *(Lepus             Common                        Crepuscular
  americanus)*                                                    

  **Deer**                                                        

  Moose *(Alces alces)*             Abundant                      Crepuscular

  **Extripated Species -- no longer                               
  occurs on Isle Royale**                                         

  Coyote *(Canis latrans)*          Last recorded                 Crepuscular
                                    sighting -                    
                                    1950s                         

  Lynx *(Lynx canadensis)*          Last recorded                 Nocturnal
                                    sighting - 1981               

  Norway Rat *(Rattus norvegicus)*  Last recorded                 Crepuscular/nocturnal
                                    sighting - ?                  

  White-Tailed Deer *(Odocoileus    Last recorded                 Crepuscular
  virginianus)*                     sighting --                   
                                    1930s                         

  Caribou *(Rangifer tarandus)*     Last recorded                 Crepuscular
                                    sighting - 1927               
  --------------------------------- --------------- ------------- -----------------------

Diurnal -- Most active during day

Nocturnal -- Most active at night

Crepuscular -- Most active at dawn and dusk

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                    **EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA**   Rev. 5/2005

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