Gray Wolf: The Importance Of Keystone Species

Wolves have always been a symbol of the wild, free in spirit and roamers of the land. These animals are considered majestic and protectors of the wilderness. They have always roamed the western United States, although their population has fluctuated over time. Over the past 10 years wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park has been a controversial topic to those of the United States. As of 1995, wolves have been reintroduced into the park. This has come with some strong opposition and yet has prevailed. The future of the wolf in Yellowstone park is now looking bright, although not certain since there still are those who want them banished again.

In “Scared to Death” by Ed Yong and Sharon Levy’s “Wolf Family Values,” we read about the need to protect the population of wolves in North America. These two articles have very different ways to go about this. Ed Yong talks about the wolf effects on elk as well as the rest of the environment. Levy’s approach is about wolf social structure and how it is impacted by hunting. Both of these make some valid points on why more conservation efforts should be made; however, I believe Ed Yong made the stronger case.

elk killed by wolves also provides vital food source for predators such as grizzlies and black bears and for scavengers such as coyotes and ravens.

The declining wolf population has turned around and is now increasing at a steady pace. The National Park Service says “During the 1980s, wolves began to reestablish breeding packs in Northwestern Montana; 50-60 wolves inhabited Montana in 1994.”(NPS) We are very fortunate for the quick acts of transferring the wolves from Canada down to the Yellowstone National Park and to the intense research that has been done

The gray wolf packs continue to be rarely seen in North Dakota. We can’t count how many packs there is today because there is only an exiguous amount left. Gray wolves remain threatened in North Dakota in addition to some of endangered in other areas of the United States of America. Clearly, ranchers are one of the primary reasons that gray wolves stay threatened. They are killing gray wolves for the reason that the wolves are killing off their livestock. Another reason why the gray wolves remain vulnerable is because the poachers set traps to kill the gray wolves. Gray wolves keep the ecosystem healthy by keeping the elk and deer population intact. However, some hunters could see this as not helping them so they would want to kill wolves.

In this essay I will be informing readers about the history of the wolf in the western part of the United States, the wolf’s status as an endangered species, and its effect on the ecosystem and what we as humans can do to manage it.

Wolves are a vital part of animal's well being. In the book Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat, Mowat goes to study wolves in the middle of barren Canada. In Canada he meets an Eskimo named Mike and he stays in his cabin while he finds a wolf den to study. He studies how pups grow up and how the wolves hunt, also their diet. He finds out how the caribou are disappearing, and estimates how many are killed in a certain amount of time. Along with many other things Mowat uses Logos with Personification and Characterization to explain how the wolves are not savage killers.

Wolves were first banned in the early decades of the 1900s, and since then the elk population has been testing their limits with their boundries, and where their supossed to go. they have been using the

Hunting the wolves can be very entertaining to some of the hunters because, it is a challenge. Also it gets rid of them, stops farmer’s sheep and

These results supported previous research that wolves have density and/or trait meditated effects on white tailed deer. They also provide experimental and manipulated support for previous experiments suggesting that wolves generate trophic cascades affecting sapling and vegetation growth in various regions, as well as the Great Lakes forest area.

The area of Yellowstone National Park has a long history of inhabitants, even before it became the nation’s first national park. In the area now known as Yellowstone National Park, wolves were once very prominent. However due to westward expansion in the 1800s, agriculture began to increase. This led to the wolves that once thrived in this area to being practically completely removed. The increase in agriculture in this region led to a lot of the wolves’ prey becoming reduced or eliminated. Since the wolves had a decrease in prey, the wolves began to prey on domestic animals, which then resulted in humans eliminating the wolves almost completely. By the 1930s the wolf was eliminated from the area. This was before people had an understanding of how ecosystems work and the interrelation of species. Now that the wolves were gone, elk then became overpopulated. A lot of the vegetation began to disappear as well due to the overgrazing of the elk. However after about a 70-year absence, in 1995 the wolves were carefully brought back to Yellowstone. When they brought the wolves back to the park, there was not just an effect on one species or one area but rather they affected the entire ecosystem of the area. I will discuss their effects on areas such elk, beaver colonies, scavengers, aspen trees, willow trees and cottonwood trees.

In Yellowstone National Park, scientists have been carefully documenting the impacts of wolves on the ecosystem, noting many changes for the better since reintroduction, (Berger et al. 2008; Beschta and Ripple 2010). As the ecosystem depends on the Gray Wolf to properly function predation, the wolves also regulate distribution and group size of each species, which impacts overall native biodiversity. Wolves primarily prey on large hoofed mammals such as deers, elk and moose. By preying on the most vulnerable (diseased, young, old, weak or injured) individuals, wolves can help keep prey populations more healthy and strong, (Carbyn

Wolves are just trying to survive and help their young survive just like how humans want to survive and help their young survive. The issues they are facing are mostly human causes, we need to stop killing and hunting wolves for prizes and for useless reasons, and start respecting them. Wolves are very important to nature and first nations and everyone in general. Dont you want your kids to grow up knowing what wolves are. Do you want you kids growing up their parents generation killed off wolves, no you dont. Lets stop wolves from getting

Many people tend to be afraid of wolves because of how big they are and their strength. However, we don’t see how important they are until there are drastic changes. For almost 70 years Yellowstone did not have a night where a wolves howl could be heard. In that time the deer population grew fast; because of the increase in their

The wolf was once a much slandered animal. In the western world, people feared and hated wolves, and this legacy is reflected in stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. In these popular children's tales the wolf is made out to be a prowler and a killer of livestock and people. There is some basis for The Boy Who Cried Wolf, for wolves have killed cattle and sheep. But what of Little Red Riding Hood? There are no records of wolves killing humans in Canada or the United States. Yet, when wolves were spotted near rural communities, fear used to grip the populace, but over time this has become less prevalent.