This blog talks about the governor of Idaho wanting to get rid of the wolves. This could be a problem if we get rid of all of them. According to the article of” Wolf Depredation Trends” by Musiani,M when wolf populations dip it can allow other animals like elk to become over populated. The elk can than eat all of the deciduous plant causing loss of food for other animals. We have reason to believe that they are not a very big problem in the territory. Based on the article “Of Earth Justice”, there have only been two human reported deaths due to the Wolf. People look at wolves as vicious killing machines but fail to look at how greatly they impact the ecosystem.
According to the Defenders association, Wolves today are found in many parts of the US. However in many regions the wolves are fighting to stay in existence. There are aproximently 200,000 wolves in 57 countries compared to 2 million in earlier times. According to the defender of wild life, page “ Wolves were once common throughout all of North America but were killed in most areas of the United States by the mid-1930s”(Defender of wildlife).
According to the Northern Rockies wolf association a wolf can be a help in killing off animals that are sick or too weak to contribute to the ecosystem or themselves. According to the Northern Rockies Wolf Collaborative Wyoming Wolves page 1, the presence of wolves benefits a multitude of species within the ecosystem. With less elk the lower grazing pressure allows vegetation to grow in plentiful amounts that allow the vegetation to support other animals. Wolves have been known to reduce the coyote population significantly in some areas, which can lead to increased populations of pronghorn antelope and the red fox. The presence of the wolf enhances native biodiversity drastically.
According to the article of Northern Rockies Wolf Collaborative Wyoming Wolves, people living in wolf territory have a greater chance of dying in a vehicle collision with a deer than being killed by a wolf. This being said wolves are wild animals and can attack. Wolves often become aggressive towards humans when they are no longer scared of them do to people feeding the wolves. The people than take the humans as food and no longer a threat. Wolves are very territorial and will protect their territory at many costs.
With all this being said wolves are proven to be a help to our ecosystem instead of a threat. The wolves can be dangerous to humans but it is rarely experienced. The wolves are a great help on the ecosystem and when eliminated cause a giant threat to its surrounding area. The wolf not only helps other animals survive but also affect the vegetation.
- What is the importance of the wolf to the ecosystem?
- Are wolf attacks common with people?
- Why has the wolf population decreased?
I thought your blog was very interesting about life with wolves. I learned that the presence of wolves can be harmful but also with out them populations, like elk and other big game animals become over populated because of the eating of Deciduous plants. It takes the food away from other animals who will most likely die. I found it interesting that it is very rare to see wolf attacks and is much less harmful then said in movies and articles. Overall I thought this topic was very interesting on how wolves effect the ecosystem we all live in. Here is a website about wolves http://www.wolfcountry.net/