Study Shows Wolves' Importance to Ecosystems

I’ve always been fascinated with wolves. I think they got a bad rap in years past. I might think differently if I were a sheep farmer, although I’ve heard llamas are good protectors of sheep.

 

There are similar studies coming out of Yellowstone after the reintroduction of wolves there.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031029064909.htm

The growth of the wolf population and the subsequent reduction in the number of elk has had a positive cascade throughout the ecology of the park.

I think there is a lesson to be learned in the importance of the top predators to a healthy ecosystem and should lead to a re-evaluation of our management policies of such creatures whether it be bear hunts or marine fishing or any other situation where our activities are having such a negative effect. Long term sustainability is important.

 

Did you ever see the 1983 movie "Never Cry Wolf"? It was about the relationship between wolves and rodents, particularly mice, in Alaska.

 

Yes, Daisy, one of my favorite movies. Charles Martin Smith is one of my favorite off-the-red-carpet stars. He does a wonderful job in this movie, surpassed only by his role as Terry the "Toad" er "Tiger" in American Graffiti.

"They thought he couldn't do the job. That's why they chose him."

 

For the last few years, the Colorado Department of Wildlife has been reintroducing wolves into the Rocky Mountains.

 

Nature is a fabric. You can't pull out one thread without messing up everything.