Some Southeast Alaska wolves are eating sea otters. It could be toxic.
This female wolf died on Pleasant Island in 2020. A series of tests on the animal identified elevated levels of mercury, likely attributable to her pack’s reliance on sea otters for food. (Photo by Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
On a small island near Gustavus, a wolf pack has decimated the local deer population – and started feeding on sea otters instead.
The shift underscored coastal wolves’ adaptability. But then one died.
“We found her in a hole, under a tree,&rd