The effects of wolves on a natural habitat extend far beyond keeping the elk population in check.
In that era, due primarily to pressure from wealthy livestock ranchers, the U.S. Government began a program to eliminate wolves from the lower 48 states. By 1930, the last wolf in Yellowstone had been killed. By the middle of the century, gray wolves were gone from the rest of the lower 48.The science community soon learned that wolves weren’t the only victims of the elimination program. The removal of wolves had the unintended consequence of disrupting a previously thriving ecosystem.
When wolves are removed from an ecosystem — through government policies, overhunting, disease, or any other cause — populations of the animals they once preyed upon increase dramatically, creating a cascade of downstream effects, explains Garrick Dutcher, research and program director at Living with Wolves, an organization dedicated to education about these large canines.
As people learned more about the complex interrelationships in ecosystems, it became clear that Yellowstone needed its wolves. In 1995, the grey wolf was re-introduced into Yellowstone, and that began the slow and ongoing process of restoring balance to the park’s ecosystem.Despite the evidence from Yellowstone, states such as Idaho and Montana are pushing legislation to allow the killing of more wolves to preserve elk populations for hunters.
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