Wolves benefit Yellowstone

[eleny]

I was reading the October '04 National Geographic at my doctor's office this afternoon. There's a short article about how beneficial wolves are to Yellowstone. The wolves are keeping the elk population on it's toes, so to speak. The elk are more wary and don't dawdle while grazing. This in turn is allowing cottonwoods and aspen trees to mature more, thus providing habitat for birds. The trees will also provide limbs for beaver who create a rich habitat for wildlife.

So, the wolves are not taking away but giving.

[knowbody0]

1. can you believe

they may start hunting these beautiful creatures
my grandfather was a photographer
he has a trunk full of the results of the atrocities. hundreds of bald eagles cyotes foxes wolves
we are supposed to evolve

[kestrel91316]

2. Woe to those who remove a pinnacle predator.................

from an ecosystem. Turns out that the top predator is KEY to the health of ecosystems.

A similar problem happened in Califormia's Channel Islands. When DDT virtually wiped out the bald eagle here, the golden eagle moved in (no competition) and virtually wiped out the island foxes. The golden eagles mainly wanted to eat the IMPORTED feral pigs, but the foxes were easy pickings. Has made a complete mess.

They have trapped and removed most the golden eagles, and have brought in bald eagles (eat fish, not pigs and foxes) but they have to incubate and hatch the eggs in captivity because they still break too easily. Then they take the chicks back out. They are removing the damned pigs, and have captive breeding on the island for the foxes, who are housed there in safety from the golden eagles. When the pigs are all gone, the golden eagles will go and not return, the foxes will be safe, and the bald eagles with assistance will keep the goldens out like they did for millennia. Oh, what a tangled web we weave.

[htuttle]

3. This is ancient, ancient wisdom that we keep forgetting

The aphorism "The lion gives the antelope it's speed." etc, etc, exists in most cultures around the world (changing predators/prey to suit).

[jeffreyi]

4. Anecdotal evidence...

In the mountains where I work, I think the same thing is happening...not from wolves, but from mountain lions, which haven't been hunted here for 10 years or so, and which seem to be more numerous. The aspen stands seem to be getting a break now; there "seem" to be more ramets making it out of the browse zone which did not used to happen. I know it's not from any enlightened livestock grazing practices!! We have a growing elk population too and the aspen would really be taking it on the chin if something weren't keeping the elk on the move and keeping their numbers checked a bit.

[knowbody0]

5. running with wolves

pondering this thread on my walk today i met with a cyote.she appeared to be smiling. just sharing

[NNadir]

6. I would love to have wolves in New Jersey but...

somehow I think I'm in the minority.

We actually had some bears here recently, near Hopewell (north of Trenton, west of Princeton) which killed some sheep (kept by some of our wealthy "gentlemen" farmers.) Many people now want to shoot the bears on the grounds that they are bears.

Not so long ago, Princeton Township hired a company called "White Buffalo" to come and shoot a few thousand deer. The deer are everywhere, giant rodents of a sort. The problem is that the only predator that kills deer here are Mercedes Benzes and similar creatures, like Land Rovers and Hummers. Unfortunately the deer, in the act of being killed, also smash up the Benzes Rovers and even the Hummers, sometimes injuring or killing the inhabitants.

Actually some wolves would do the trick here, but, again, the appearance of wolves in New Jersey would almost certainly inspire people to want to shoot them, because they are wolves.