On a recent trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, my girlfriends and I went on a backroad tour of the Grand Tetons. Our tour guide and driver Callie was both fun and informative. While talking about the wildlife in the park, she told us all about the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone back in 1995 and the impact it had on the ecosystem of the world’s first national park. (Fun fact: Jackoson Hole’s airport is the only one you fly into that’s in a national park!)
A few of my friends had seen a documentary on it and said it’s a must see. I was fascinated by the whole topic and vowed to read more about it and watch the doc, National Geographic’s “Wolves: A Legend Returns to Yellowstone.” In a word; it was as good as advertised and I highly recommend it.
Now, at the risk of getting all Kevin Costnery on you, I of course have dived deep into the effects of the return of Yellowstone’s top dog.
In short, before the 1900s, Yellowstone predators such as grizzly and black bears, wolves, and mountain lions thrived alongside robust populations of American bison, elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep. But a coordinated campaign by the federal government exterminated almost all of them along with bison and the last known Yellowstone wolf pack was killed in 1926 under the belief that “the only good wolf is a dead one.” Boy were they dead wrong.
Yellowstone became wolf-free for more then 60 years but with them gone and with bears and lions greatly diminished, elk populations skyrocketed and a nature imbalance resulted. The massive number of elk pushed the limits of Yellowstone’s capacity as they didn’t need to move around much due to the absence of North America’s premier predator and with their population under much weaker predatory pressure, their population flourished but put excessive pressure on plants, especially willow.
Beavers also suffered as they need willows to survive winters. These little “nature’s engineers” as they’re often called, make a big difference. The little rodents actually build huge damns, which provide essential season runoff or containment and water for fish. Bringing wolves back to Yellowstone also made a big difference and boy did they stage a big comeback.
In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and with that, grizzly bears and mountain lions, which prey on elk, increased in number resulting and the elk population dropped. As sad as this might sound, it helped immensely. Today, willows and other plants are robust and essential beaver damns provide essential season runoff and water for fish.
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The effects of reintroduction of wolves continues to astonish biologists but the results speak for themselves as the ecosystem of Yellowstone is back to its primeval state. Just as God made it.
I also learned from the documentary, which provides amazing photography of nature at work, is that wolves aren’t random killers but rather very selective ones and are actually very shy and don’t like people so seeing one is rare. We didn’t see any on our tour but we did see a coyote!
Doug Smith
I also loved learned that while the “alpha male” wolf is often in charge of the pack, which is very territorial BTW even with other wolf packs, the “alpha female” is equally in charge. They love their pups and male wolves take an active role in caring for them. Winter is their favorite season to prey as their webbed paws allow more stability in the deep powdered snow than those of their prey. (Wish I’d had those paws when I tweaked my knee walking in deep powder!)
Being the dog lover that I am, I also loved seeing on the documentary the differences between wolves, coyotes, and foxes. I also loved learning that they wag their tails when they’re happy and often find their way “home” to their original packs.
A quick sidenote on this topic is that upon returning from my trip and returning to my Bible Study, I was both shocked and amazed when the presenter began talking about this very subject of wolves returning to Yellowstone. Goosebumps to say the least. He reminded us that Jesus is not just important; He changes every single thing. Kinda like the wolf did. One thing changed everything. I’ll be dog gone. Chills, right?
Beyond Words 