The call of the wild in northern Michigan's Isle Royale National Park may be losing one of its voices: that of the gray wolf.

 In 2009, scientists documented about 24 wolves living on this remote, forested island in Lake Superior. But as of April 2016, that population has dwindled to two—the lowest total ever recorded, according to the Wolves & Moose of Isle Royale Project, which calls itself the longest continuous study of a predator-prey system in the world.

The reason for the decline is likely inbreeding. Because there's so little genetic diversity among the remaining wolves, all the animals have skeletal deformities, and their weakened state could be interfering with reproduction: Only three pups were born in 2013, only 1 survived.

Scientists say inbreeding has become more of an issue because the ice bridge that often connected mainland Ontario, Canada, and Isle Royale in the winter no longer predictably forms, due to steadily rising temperatures in the region. So wolves from Canada are rarely able to cross the bridge and bring new genes to the existing pack. (Prior unusually cold winters did produce an ice bridge, and one wolf that left the island was shot by a hunter on the mainland.) The changed landscape presents scientists with a dilemma. Should we intervene to save Isle Royale's wolves, or let nature take its course? I say we give Mother Nature a helping hand.

On April 9, the U.S. National Park Service made its stance clear: The agency will not take any immediate action to bring wolves to the island.

Prior to these latest findings, there had been scientific debate about whether it would be better to allow the last two island wolves to die before restocking — ridding the island of genetic defaults — or to restock immediately to keep some of the original bloodlines intact. The population crash on Isle Royale is the result of inbreeding and the two remaining wolves are definitely family — they are half-siblings and also a father-daughter pair.

The 2 wolves on Isle Royale will be 6 and 8 years old this spring, while the life expectancy of wolves on the island has been about 4 years of age.

There were 24 wolves on the island as recently as 2009.

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