Coyotes meet the new apex guy - reintroduced wolf

[packman]

[Beringia]

10. Ducks killed along Pacific Flyway by Humans

http://www.pacificflyway.gov/Documents/Databook.pdf

[Duppers]

13. Humans kill way more than 4 leg critters(?)

[hlthe2b]

2. Yikes...

[shanny]

3. Yep. After wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone

the coyote population tanked...and elk herds became healthier, other populations--mammals, birds, fish--grew, diversity increased, they even changed the rivers

Meet the new boss.

[jpak]

4. A classic Trophic Cascade

yup

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. This is an excellent little video, esp. for people who hate wolves.

It's superbly made!

[shanny]

7. Indeed.

fwiw, I would be much more concerned about encountering a pack of coyotes than a pack of wolves in the back country--the first is far more brazen/less shy. TBH, people aren't likely to see wolves, except at a distance. Native shyness or genetic memory, they avoid us if they can (fyi, despite legend, there is no known instance of a wolf attacking a healthy adult. I think their bad rep goes back to the time of the Plague in medieval Europe, when we developed a memory (?) of wolves feeding on people. Assuming that happened, they were probably dead or dying at the time and hence "fair game"...but the memory lingers).

Same goes for black bears v grizzly/brown bears. The former are much smaller, but according to my experience and friends in AK, can be much more dangerous. Because they are not shy. Either one is way above us on the food chain so relative size is not really an issue; willingness to be around us is.

[Coventina]

6. That is fantastic! Thanks for posting! n/t

[shanny]

8. My pleasure.

[Beringia]

9. Coyotes are the true natives

They evolved in North America 1 million years ago. Gray wolf came from Europe across the Bering strait about 200,000 years ago.