 |
Home |
| Parks | |
| About the Site | |
| News |
|
Isle Royale National Park (4)
|
Animals
Isle Royale is unique as an ecosystem because of the relative absence of outside influences on its plants and animals. The animal population of Isle Royale is one of its most valuable characteristics. Because of its isolation and wilderness nature the animals on this island can lead lives less influenced by man than in almost any other part of America. The collection of animal life is somewhat
One of the most commonly observed animals is the red fox, shown below.
These animals can be observed along the trails in the backwoods, but it is also not unusual to see them around campgrounds attempting to liberate food from campers or tourists.
The red fox feeds on squirrels, hares, fish, and berries which can be found in the forest. The fox is both a beneficiary and a victim of the well-known Isle Royale wolf population, as it shares some of the wolf kills but is occasionally also attacked and killed by the larger canines.
Another of the island's inhabitants is the beaver. Although it's not always easy to spot the animals themselves, traces of the beaver can be seen in many places.
Beavers have been relatively numerous on the island, with an estimated 1900 of the creatures existing in the 1970's. Another shot of an impressively large tree felled by a beaver is shown below.
Some of the small ponds observed in the backcountry are created by beaver dams. In the shot below the beaver lodge can be seen in the center of the picture. These lodges house a breeding pair of the animals and 3 or 4 young.
There are lots of birds around the island as well. The numbers include woodpeckers, chickadees, loons, duck, fulls, kingfishers, and thrushes. Below is a duck.
Loons and mergansers are also common in the waters of the park. The loon in particular is hard to forget with its famously plaintive call.
Birds can sometimes be observed nesting or relaxing on the rocks next to the lake with their young, as in the shot below.
The park's most famous animals are probably the moose and the wolf. Although it is rare for the visitor to spot the reclusive wolf, the moose is not hard to find. There is always great excitement when a moose is spotted, because the animal is unusual and impressive (see Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park pages for additional pictures of these animals). The bull moose is up to 7 feet tall, weighs about 1500 pounds, and can run up to 35 mile per hour.
There is no record of moose living on the island before the twentieth century, although there may have been here which died out before new moose appeared, probably swimming from the Canadian north shore of Lake Superior. Moose are unlikely to have come across the frozen lake between the Canadian shore and the island as the animals are easily frightened on ice.
The moose population expanded to more than 1000 animals in the 1920's, and ballooned to approximately 3000 head. However, the population dropped drastically to about 400 or 500 by 1935. The population has continued to fluctuate a great deal, and in the 1930's as few as several hundred moose could be found on the island. The number of moose on the island have been very much related to the existence of wolves. Although there were once no wolves on the island, in the winter of 1948-9 a breeding pack of the animals crossed the ice of frozen Lake Superior to Isle Royale.
Wolves thin the moose herds by killing off old, diseased, injured, or foolish moose, and in so doing actually have a beneficial effect on the remaining animals. The relationship of these two species has been the subject of intense scientific scrutiny since 1958.
Moose are relatively easy to spot. They can often be spotted along the trails or near lakes in the park, but they will even wander right into Rock Harbor for a bite, as with the animal below.
Plants
The vegetation of the island is noteworthy as well. There are about 700 species of plants on the island.
One of the most beautiful features of the park is the incredible variety of wildflowers. Isle Royale provides a number of habitats which are favorable to different species of wildflowers--the forest floor, of course, the rocky coastal area, bogs and marshes in the interior of the island, and open meadows.
This delicate flower can be found along the coast of the island.
The variety of different types of wildflowers provides a rainbow of colors.
The Canada Dogwood blooms in June and July. The white "petals" are actually white leaves which are surrounded by a cluster of yellow-green flowers. A red cluster of berries mature later in the season, and give the plants its other name, bunchberry. Much of the forest floor on the island is covered with these plants, and they provide a spectacular display during the early part of the summer. They're among the most common wildflowers in the park.
The prickly rose usually blooms during July and August. A red fruit appears in late summer. The prickly rose is found commonly in open areas and rocky spots throughout the park
The very different habitats on the island and elevation changes creation environments for many different kinds of wildflowers and other plants.
The Balsam Groundsel is found in dry, rocky, open, or lightly shaded areas on the island. The dandelion-like Canada Hawkweed grows to a height of about 1 1/2-2 feet. It's found in the open, dry areas.
One of the most beautiful wildflowers on the island is the violet colored wild iris. This flower, which stands on a stalk of about 1 1/2 to 3 feet, blooms in July and early August.
The striking wood lily blooms in July and August. It is generally found in open and dry areas within the park. The plant is about 1 to 1 1/2 feet in height.
In many areas the floor of the forest is a thicket. One of the plants responsible for the almost impenetrable ground cover is the thimbleberry.
The maple leaf-like shape of the thimblebery is quite distinctive. This plant is from the raspberry family, and it produces a tart scarlet fruit.
These broad leafed plants are found in damp, marshy environments on the island.
The dense forest cover provides welcome habitat for a number of ferns. In fact, there are about 2 dozen different varieties of ferns on the island.
References
Information about Isle Royale Park has been drawn from personal experience, maps, interpretive material, brochures, and other data available in the park itself, and a number of other sources, including:
- Borealis: An Isle Royale Potpourri. (1992). Houghton, MI: Isle Royale Natural History Association.
- Butcher, Devereux. (1949). Exploring Our National Parks and Monuments. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
- Dufresne, Jim. (1984). Isle Royale National Park. Seatle, WA: The Mountaineers.
- Gale, Thomas. P., & Gale, Kendra L. (1995). Isle Royale: A Photographic History. Houghton, MI: Isle Royale National History Association.
- Huber, N. King. (1983). The Geologic Story of Isle Royale National Park. Houghton, MI: Isle Royale Natural History Association.
- Janke, Robert A. (1996). The Wildflowers of Isle Royale. Houghton, MI: Isle Royale Natural History Association.
- Keyes, Nelson Beecher. (1957). America's National Parks. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday & Co.
- National Geographic's Guide to the National Parks of the United States. (1997). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
- Our National Parks: America's Spectacular Wilderness Heritage. (1989). Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Associates.
- Peterson, Rolf O. (1995). The Wolves of Isle Royale. Minocqua: WI: Willow Creek Press.
- Spellenberg, Richard. (1995). National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Western Region). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
- Tilden, Freeman. (1970). The National Parks. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
| - First Page for Isle Royale National Park - |
|
|
|
|
|
|