Whos afraid of the big bad wolf? Is the true villain the wolf or the unnaturally high elk populations in the Yellowstone ecosystem? I am constantly amazed at how much the wolf is hated amongst my more conservative friends despite evidence that their reintroduction into the Yellowstone ecosystem is accomplishing exactly what it was supposed to do: reestablish the elks natural apex predator to keep the Yellowstone herd numbers down, restore the natural balance of prey and predator, and give the ecosystem a chance to heal itself. Im also amazed at the misinformation that keeps showing up from those on both side of the controversy. The anti-wolf side continues to site the decline in the Yellowstone herd as if it were a bad thing without taking into account that elk population control was one of the principal reasons for bringing back the wolf in the first place. According to this op-ed piece in the Times, the real tragedy may be that we were too late in bringing the wolves back to Yellowstone. It appears that some major plant species (such as willows) may never recover from the damage caused by the unnaturally high elk populations of the last century or so...
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 16:08:17 +0000
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