Moose

Moose arrived on Isle Royale around 1900 and established a thriving population before wolves arrived in 1949. The moose population exemplifies prey dynamics, oscillating from approximately 500 to 1,500 individuals in response to wolf predation pressure, harsh winters, and disease.

Moose demonstrate prey population characteristics: exponential growth when predators are absent, population crashes when predation intensifies, and ecosystem damage (overbrowsing) when predation pressure is removed. The 2018 population explosion to 1,500 moose (when wolves declined to 2) caused massive damage to balsam fir forests.

The Isle Royale moose-wolf study revealed that predators regulate but don't eliminate prey - even when wolves were abundant, moose persisted through selective predation that maintained population health.