Darwin at Yellowstone–Wolves Eat Elk…Other Species Applaud: Finally, a “Man Tinkers With Nature” story that is going right..so far. Nine years after the controversial reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park, the Washington Post reports that park rangers and biologists are cataloguing a remarkable ripple effect that is great for the Park (unless you happen to be an elk). Before the lean, mean hunting machines arrived, 17,000 elk roamed the Park without a worry in the world, since aside from the odd grizzly bear taking a calf the elk had no natural predators to contend with (coyotes are too small to do them much harm). So they hung around the river banks, munching on Willow shoots, as well as Aspen and Cottonwood, discussing whatever it is elks discuss. The result–sparse tree growth along the rivers and a surpuls of elk. Fast-forward to today, when 250-300 hungry wolves are on the prowl. Suddenly Aspen, Cottonwood and Willow trees are flourishing once again. The reason: the elks finally figured out that if they languished by the river banks they were dead meat. According to the article, this realization took a little while to sink in:

“The first thing that happened was that the elk ignored the wolves,” said Wildlife Conservation Society senior scientist Joel Berger, speaking by telephone from Driggs, Idaho. “The elk were treating 90- and 100-pound wolves like they were 35-pound coyotes. The elk were naive. They aren’t naive anymore.”

The wolves (and bad weather) have helped prune the elk population to about 8,000, soooo: the trees are growing once again, which means their shade cools the water, which lures trout, which in turn brings back migratory birds who feed on trout. The trees also bring back beaver, which can eat the low hanging willow branches. The beavers do what beavers do, and build lodges and dams, which in turn create marshland which attracts otters, mink, muskrat and ducks. Last but not least, all the elk carcasses lying around has also brought in ravens, magpies, and eagles. Bears and coyotes are also enjoying the free scraps. Pretty amazing. Thanks, elk. Park biologists predict that as elk grow more scarce and more wary, the wolves will branch out into other, more challenging, cuisine, such as bison. Doug Smith, the leader of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, can hardly wait to watch this large animal Death Match because it will test one of his wolf theories:

“Why do wolves hunt in packs? I think it’s for the bison,” he suggests. “It takes three wolves to kill an elk, but I have seen 10 wolves hanging off a 2,000-pound bull bison. They killed it, but it took nine hours, and the bison killed one wolf, gored another and broke the leg of the alpha female. Bison just pound them.”

Yikes……



“That’s right you stupid elk, treat me like a wimpy little coyote….Papa’s going to EAT tonight!”

(Photo: National Park Service)