The school’s principal, Chad Culver, was meeting with a teacher when he first spotted the bear.
"Literally out by the bike rack, which is about 20 feet from my window, was a black bear," Culver said
The bear prompted a 10-minute stay-in-place lockdown. Students were not allowed to leave the building. Shortly after the lockdown went into effect, the bear was spotted crossing U.S. 131 west of town.
The Natural Resources Commission has approved a wolf hunt for the Upper Peninsula. The panel heard from supporters and opponents before the vote.
State wildlife officials counted 658 wolves this winter. Officials hope to kill 43 wolves in the hunt.
The hunt will take place in three separate zones in the Upper Peninsula beginning November 15, 2013.
The Gray Wolf until recently was listed as an endangered species by the federal government. The wolf population has grown dramatically in the last decade.
Some have complained that the increasing wolf population has led to an increase in attacks on livestock and pets in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Opponents of the wolf hunt claim it is not needed and that a hunt will not address problem wolves.
Governor Rick Snyder has signed Senate Bill 288. That could clear the way for a wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula.
His signature clears the way for the state's Natural Resources Commission to vote on a recommendation to hold a limited wolf hunt this fall in three parts of the UP.
The Governor told Michigan Radio's Lindsey Smith that he believes the NRC will base its decision on what he called "sound scientific principles."
"If you think about it, I think sound scientific principals are how we should decide these things, to make sure we are doing the proper environmental functions that protect whatever species we're talking about, so it's sustainable for the long term," said Snyder.
More than quarter of a million Michiganders signed a petition asking to put a wolf hunt proposal on the November 2014 ballot. And the coalition called Keep Michigan Wolves Protected says Senate Bill 288 is a deliberate attempt by lawmakers to circumvent their petition effort.
Legislation that could allow a limited wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula cleared the state House Wednesday, and is on its way to Governor Rick Snyder.
The grey wolf was recently removed from the federal endangered species list.
State Representative Jeff Irwin is a Democrat from Ann Arbor. He was one of the “no” votes.
“This is an animal that just came off the endangered species list. The populations are not even healthy or even abundant, and I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about shooting wolves in northern Michigan,” Irwin said.
The Department of Natural Resources has confirmed three recent cougar sightings in the Upper Peninsula.
Two photos of a cougar with a radio collar were taken in October in Menominee County, while a third photo was taken of a collarless cougar in November in Marquette County.
The DNR does not employ radio collars to track cougars, making the origin of the cat something of a mystery.
North Dakota and South Dakota are the nearest states that make use of collars to track cougars, and the animals are known to travel hundreds of miles in search of new territory.
Nearly a hundred years ago a small animal that most people have never heard of was wiped out of the northern forest. In the mid-1980’s, wildlife biologists reintroduced the pine marten in two locations in the Lower Peninsula. They thought the population would take off and spread but it hasn’t. And now researchers are trying to find out why.
The pine marten is the smallest predator in the northern forest. It’s a member of the weasel family… related to otters and ferrets. It weighs roughly two to two-and-a half pounds, has big furry ears, a pointed nose, a bright orange patch on its chest and a bit of a temper.
“I don’t know how big of an animal they would take on but they do have a reputation for being quite fierce.”
Jill Witt is a wildlife biologist with the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. She has a marten caught in a wire cage tucked next to a fallen log, half buried in twigs and leaf litter.
Rolf Peterson holds up the song sheet for the evening. Candy Peterson loves to get people singing. She says "people shouldn't say, 'I can't sing,' they should say 'I don't sing very often.'"
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Rolf Peterson outside of the Bangsund Cabin on Isle Royale. Peterson has been studying wolves and moose on Isle Royale for 42 years. With the wolf population down to nine, the longest running predator-prey study in the world hangs in the balance.
The ups and downs of the wolf and moose populations on Isle Royale. The 54 year study holds an incredible amount of data. The wolves are at their lowest point yet.
Credit John Vucetich/Rolf Peterson / Michigan Tech
The "West-End Duo." Possibly the only breeding pair left on the island.
Credit John Vucetich/Rolf Peterson / Michigan Tech
The Chippewa Harbor Pack howling in winter. An unusual time of year for this kind of behavior. The wolves could be looking for new mates.
The probability of a new ice bridge forming is lessening as the planet warms. Circles on top show when an ice bridge formed. Circles on bottom show when there was no ice bridge.
Credit John Vucetich/Rolf Peterson / Michigan Tech
Wolves on Isle Royale.
Credit John Vucetich/Rolf Peterson / Michigan Tech
The alpha male of the Middle Pack. The pack was wiped out in the last year.
Credit John Vucetich/Rolf Peterson / Michigan Tech
The Chippewa Harbor pack on Isle Royale.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Candy Peterson, Rolf Peterson's wife and research partner, gives a talk to the Moosewatch volunteers at the Daisy Farm campground. Her subject this evening, "reverence."
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Candy Peterson talking about "reverence" at Daisy Farm campground on Isle Royale. She's talking to a group of Moosewatch volunteers.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Candy Peterson uses part of the Isle Royale wolf-moose study bone collection in her talk.
Researchers like Durwood Allen, and Michigan Tech's John Vucetich and Rolf Peterson have been keeping a close eye on the animals on the island for more than five decades.
Peterson has been doing it the longest. He's been watching and documenting things on Isle Royale for 42 years.
Moosewatch volunteer Dave Beck holds up a marked antler. Team leader Jeff Holden looks on. They mark the antlers and hang them in a tree so others know the antler has been found and documented.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Moosewatch volunteers hike along the trail on Isle Royale National Park.
Credit Mark Brush
The trail on Isle Royale traverses a lot of rocky terrain.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
L to R - Moosewatch volunteers Pete Prawdzick, Dave Beck, and Jeff Morrison.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
The map guides their way when they head off trail.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Getting ready to go off trail.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Moosewatch group leader Jeff Holden stops for a snack.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
A found bone. The volunteers stopped, dropped packs, and searched for more bones. This moose bone was likely left here by an animal. No other bones were found.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Flags are put up to mark the search area after a bone is found.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
The site of the found bone.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Susie Morrison takes a break.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Dave Beck finds a shed moose antler in the dense understory.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
The antler is marked and hung in a tree so other volunteers who might find it know it's been documented.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Hanging a found antler in a tree.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Dave Beck marking an antler.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Dave Beck marking an antler.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Measuring the size of the base of the antler.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Making a note of the find.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Dave Beck and Dave Conrad get ready for rain.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
The Moosewatch volunteers. L to R - Dave Beck, Pete Prawdzick, Jeff Holden (group leader), Dave Conrad, and Jeff Morrison, Susie Morrison.
Wolves and moose are at the heart of the world’s longest running study of a predator and its prey. The drama unfolds on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior.
But it’s a big island, almost entirely wilderness.
The researchers from Michigan Tech say they can’t cover all that ground alone.
So they have a program called Moosewatch. It’s a backcountry expedition where you pay to help out with the wolf-moose study. But be warned: it’s no easy little walk in the woods.
"We’re going to trash through the understory here for a third to half of a mile and see if we can find some dead moose."
That’s Jeff Holden. He’s a Moosewatch group leader, in charge of a group of six (himself plus five volunteers). We’re going to push our way into the thick forest.
Wolf biologist Rolf Peterson taking us to the site of a moose carcass on Caribou Island. He and other researchers collect bones from dead moose as part of their research.
The wolf-moose research project on Michigan's Isle Royale National Park is in its 54th year.
A big chunk of their research goes into tracking down dead moose - bones and carcasses - around the island.
From these remains the researchers can pick apart the status and overall health of the moose population. And understanding moose is important to wolf research, since the wolves eat the moose.
It's like understanding the overall quality and quantity of food available at the grocery store. If there's good, abundant food available, you'd expect things to be good. If not, well - you get the picture.
When Rebecca Williams and I arrived at the Daisy Farm campground on Isle Royale, we were met by Rolf Peterson in his boat.
He said he'd just heard of a dead moose on Caribou Island and asked whether we would like to go see it with him.
A stroke of luck. We'd traveled by plane, car, and boat to get here, and here was our chance to see Peterson in action.
Here's a video of our trip with him. Is ripping the skull off a dead moose gross? I didn't think so, but you can be the judge.
So, what did you think? Vote by typing "gross" or "not gross" in the comment section below.
Newsletters and Daily Email
Podcasts
Mobile
RSS
