Wolves used to range over much of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. They were reintroduced several years ago, but counts over the winter showed that the populations are expanding rapidly over the past few years.

(a) Plot the number of wolves versus the year the count was taken.
(b) Fit a least squares line to summarize the growth. To simplify the calculation, code 1998 as x = 1, 1999 as x = 2, and so on.
(c) Does your fitted straight line summarize the growth in the wolf population over this period of time? If so, what numerical value summarizes the change in population size from one winter to the next?

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Total Number of Wolves in Wisconsin Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 No. wolves 178 204 248 257 327 325 ear 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 No. wolves 373 436 467 546 549 637 782