Posted on 06/19/2024 1:19:47 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
The historic removal of gray wolves from the U.S. West facilitated the rise of mid-ranking predators across the region, wreaking havoc on historical ecosystem dynamics, a new study has found.
Yet just how much havoc — both to their immediate prey and much farther down the line — remains unclear due to a dearth of data, according to the study, published Wednesday in BioScience.
The disappearance of wolves particularly led to a spike in elk populations, which then damaged plant communities through overgrazing, per the study. Also of note was an upswing in medium-sized carnivores like coyotes that threaten smaller animals.
“Various national parks in the western United States, which are considered the crown jewels of American wilderness, lack their apex predators, resulting in them being shadows of their supposed ecological integrity,” the authors stated.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
It was either cattle or wolves. Cattle won.
Wolves were mostly removed because of the damage they did to agricultural interests, preying on sheep and cattle. The wolves didn’t know they were supposed to stay inside park boundaries. The wolf-elk balance has been well studied and it is true, the over abundance of elk damages the ecology, destroying turf, muddying river waters and harming riparian vegetation. while the predator niche left by the wolves is filled with coyotes, mainly, which is maybe even a greater nuisance.
Another J-school graduate with no science background. What’s not to like.
Wolves hunting elk are easily replaced by humans hunting elk.
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