We often think of wolves of killing and wasting their food whereas in reality, “About half their meals come from kills, and on average 5 percent of their winter encounters with moose result in kills. The other half of their winter meals are scavenged (animals that died from other causes); the majority of the moose they eat are scavenged. They dig many of the scavenged meals from beneath the snow . . . pg. 87 (Haber & Holleman, 2013). Haber contends “Wolves are master hunters, but by no means are they able to take down ungulate prey at will. They encounter many moose, sheep, caribou, and other species before finding vulnerable individuals. Wolves must rely on sophisticated cooperative pursuit, testing, and killing tactics because of the difficulty
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Wolves play a very important role in the ecosystems in which they live. They improve habitat and increase populations of countless species from birds of prey to even salmon. The presence of wolves influences the population and behavior of their prey, changing the browsing and foraging patterns of prey animals and how they move about the land. This, in turn, ripples throughout plant and animal communities, often altering the landscape itself. For this reason wolves are described as a “keystone species,” whose presence is vital to maintaining the health, structure and balance of ecosystems. (Living with Wolves, 2014)
We can take a look at Yellowstone as a prime example of what happens to an ecosystem if you remove wolves from it. Elk became abundant and began to damage their own habitat by over grazing, this had a ripple effect. The fish population began to decline, as the streams became warmer due to lack of shade from vegetation and shallower due to soil erosion. The park ranger eventually began to kill and relocate the elk to compensate. Once wolves were reintroduced the ecosystem began to balance out once again. Vegetation began to grow, and after a successful wolf kill, the leftovers provide food for scavengers, including bald and golden eagles, magpies, coyotes, and ravens. (Living with Wolves, …show more content…
The state recently killed a pack of wolves, known as the Lost Creek wolves, when they crossed over an invisible boundary out of the park. According to John Burch, a National Park Service biologist, who had studied the pack for 20 years indicated that had it been a few years earlier, the state agents charged with predator control would’ve seen Burch’s radio collars and spared at least some of the Lost Creek pack. But no longer, Burch says: “There’s no negotiations anymore. They kill almost all the wolves they can find. These last two winters they’ve pretty well gotten most of them.” (Langlois,
Wolves play a very important role in the ecosystems in which they live. They improve habitat and increase populations of countless species from birds of prey to even salmon. The presence of wolves influences the population and behavior of their prey, changing the browsing and foraging patterns of prey animals and how they move about the land. This, in turn, ripples throughout plant and animal communities, often altering the landscape itself. For this reason wolves are described as a “keystone species,” whose presence is vital to maintaining the health, structure and balance of ecosystems. (Living with Wolves, 2014)
We can take a look at Yellowstone as a prime example of what happens to an ecosystem if you remove wolves from it. Elk became abundant and began to damage their own habitat by over grazing, this had a ripple effect. The fish population began to decline, as the streams became warmer due to lack of shade from vegetation and shallower due to soil erosion. The park ranger eventually began to kill and relocate the elk to compensate. Once wolves were reintroduced the ecosystem began to balance out once again. Vegetation began to grow, and after a successful wolf kill, the leftovers provide food for scavengers, including bald and golden eagles, magpies, coyotes, and ravens. (Living with Wolves, …show more content…
The state recently killed a pack of wolves, known as the Lost Creek wolves, when they crossed over an invisible boundary out of the park. According to John Burch, a National Park Service biologist, who had studied the pack for 20 years indicated that had it been a few years earlier, the state agents charged with predator control would’ve seen Burch’s radio collars and spared at least some of the Lost Creek pack. But no longer, Burch says: “There’s no negotiations anymore. They kill almost all the wolves they can find. These last two winters they’ve pretty well gotten most of them.” (Langlois,