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How are wolves important to the ecosystem
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To begin with, in 1995 the Gray Wolf was introduced back into Yellowstone National Park. This made the park’s ecosystem form back to it’s regular balance of the ecosystem. The balance of the ecosystem goes producer, herbivore, then carnivore. This is called the food chain and with the Gray Wolf back on top of the food chain it will help the ecosystem's balance. “Loned dispersed wolves have traveled as far as 600 miles in search of a new home”. This means that it can take a Gray Wolf up to 600 miles to find a new home. A very long walk. Also wolves can travel as far as 30 miles to areas that they can hunt in. The Gray Wolf strongly resembles the German Shepherd in many ways. One example of similarity is that the Gray Wolf and the German Shepherd …show more content…
The wolf has a negative and positive impact on other animals. This is because the wolf can eat other animals and form mutual relationships with other species of animals. One animal or species it helps is the North American Gray Wolf. It helps this species because adult wolves in a wolf pack have a breading or an alpha pair. This pair helps reproduce more for the Gray Wolves and helps their offspring. This animal also helps the Ravens. It helps the Ravens because when the Gray Wolf hunts its prey, or animal it want to kill, the Raven can eat any of the leftovers from the Gray Wolves meal. This will allow the Raven to kill other animals and have a symbiotic relationship with the Gray Wolf. The symbiotic relationship involved here is mutualism, where both species help each …show more content…
The wolf is not a danger to humans. This is because, in most parts of the world, there are no wolves. Also wolves do not want to attack an animal that is bigger then itself. Humans historical impact on wolves are almost putting them to extinction and bringing the wolves back to Yellowstone. One bad impact that humans have on wolves is when declines in prey brought the Gray Wolf near extinction in the near 20th century. This means that humans almost killed off the wolves by declining the prey that they can eat. One positive impact that the humans have on the Gray Wolves is that the humans reintroduced the Gray Wolf to Yellowstone National Park. Another negative impact that the humans had on the wolves is “To protect livestock, ranchers and government agencies began eradication campaigns”. This means that the ranchers and government agencies wanted to protect their livestock and begin getting rid of all of the wolves near their land. A very bad
The human mind is very powerful, whether were trying to figure out what we don’t know, or trying to persuade others to fear the same as we do. With this fear mankind is set on a path of destruction. To conquer their fears humans often act out by violence. This violent outbreak doesn’t solve the problem but instead makes it worse. Wolves are examples of the ways humans handle their fears. Humans don’t understand the behaviors of wolves and that makes them believe that they are bad and should be feared. Mowats time researching the wolves has led him to believe that it isn’t the wolves who are the ones to blame, but the humans who were the cause of the main problem; the decrease in caribou. Mankind needs to realize that fear is a natural thing that occurs in everything, and we shouldn’t let our fears drive us to make bad decisions that we might regret later.
The history behind the extirpation of the grey wolf in the United States dates back to the very first European settlers that colonized eastern North America in the late 16th century. The killing of gray wolves was done primarily out of fear in an attempt to protect livestock, and, in some cases, to protect human life within the colonies. As more settlers expanded West, the practice of killing wolves was considerably increased to protect livestock that included cows, pigs, and chickens. As waves of European settlers expanded westward, they began to deplete the deer, moose, and elk populations. The gray wolves food source continual depletion gave rise to wolf populations actively targeting the settler’s livestock, causing great financial loss. The fiscal loss of livestock became such an issue to wealthy ranchers and settlers that they began to offer cash rewards for wolf pelts. This practice gave birth to a lucrative cottage industry of professional hunters and trappers. As the wolves began to move further West, and into Wyoming, they began to diminish the elk and moose population. To respond to this threat, Congress approved funding in 1914, to eliminate the native gray wolves from
This makes them seem less menacing and scary like the first article makes them look. Sharon Levy says in part "It is only in the two decades that biologists have started to build a clearer picture of wolf ecology….Instead of seeing rogue man-eaters and savage packs, we now understand that wolves have evolved to live in extended family groups.." (ll 19-22) This article also explains the positive overall effects of the wolves moving back to Yellowstone. Not only did the wolves have a new home filled with beautiful elk for prey they were also protected from hunters. This changed the attitude of the wolves as well as their population, of course their population grew and stayed more
Gray Wolf Optimization Gray wolf optimization is presented in the following subsections based on the work in [13]. 1) Inspiration: Grey wolves are considered as apex predators, meaning that they are at the top of the food chain. Grey wolves mostly prefer to live in a pack. The group size is 512 on average. They have a very strict social dominant hierarchy.
...I think that repopulating wolves in an area where they might have to deal with people is kind of a feeble-witted idea. Wolves are not an animal with a great reputation, even though they might not deserve that reputation most people do not like. I think that people as a whole would probably rather have deer in their back yard rather than wolves. Therefore, the questions what can happen, what should happen, and what will happen, with the deer problem all three have different answers. These answers will differ due to the area that the deer are in and the peoples' feeling towards these deer. It is too bad that there is not one perfect solution to the deer problem. Maybe in the future there will be, but until then we will have to deal with each problem that comes up individually.
Wolves used to thrive in the western United States. There was ample game to hunt and plenty of places to live and wander. Until people moved in, wolves were settled. As European settlement expanded to the west, it began to take its toll on the wolves and their habitat. Clearing of the forests came first, which was then accompanied by significant over-hunting in this area (Noceker). Slowly wolves became concentrated into smaller and smaller areas in the west. Finally, they were assumed to be bothers to the ranchers and farmers and maybe a threat to those people who lived in the area.
Hypotheses of the Effects of Wolf Predation Abstract: This paper discusses four hypotheses to explain the effects of wolf predation on prey populations of large ungulates. The four proposed hypotheses examined are the predation limiting hypothesis, the predation regulating hypothesis, the predator pit hypothesis, and the stable limit cycle hypothesis. There is much research literature that discusses how these hypotheses can be used to interpret various data sets obtained from field studies. It was concluded that the predation limiting hypothesis fit most study cases, but that more research is necessary to account for multiple predator - multiple prey relationships. The effects of predation can have an enormous impact on the ecological organization and structure of communities.
During 70 years of absence from the Rockies, the Grey Wolf had been protected under the Endangered Species Act that was passed in 1973. Since the wolf is under the protection of Endangered Species Act a person could be punished with up to a $100,000 fine and up to 1 year in jail for killing a wolf. Back in the 1850's there was a major population increase of the wolves in America, this was due to settlers moving west. These settlers killed more than 80 million bison, the wolves started to scavenge on the carcasses left behind.
Not many people know about the arctic wolf, it is the snowy white version of a wolf. They have a really big appite when it comes to eating. They most only eat one meal a day and eat up to 20 pounds in that one meal. They are mostly carnivores; they mainly eat big animals like the caribou and the musk ox so they can feed themselves and the whole pack (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). People eat up to three meals a day, but wolves can go up to days with out eating a single thing (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). When wolves are hunting they have to be able to have a plan to catch their food. Wolves would get all the pack members that are hunting to surround the animal, and pounces on them. One bit to the neck and the animal would be dead. When they are eating they will eat everything, like the meat, shin, fur and bone (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). Also Arctic wolves can live up to 20 years in captivity, while they can only live 7- 15 years in the wild (Arctic/Antarctic: The Arctic Wolf). Arctic wolves are one of the most prettiest and unique types of wolf. When Arctic wolves are pups t...
Canis Lupus, the Latin term for the “North American Wolf”. A meat eating mammal with the capability of weighing up to 180 pounds and reaching a height of sixty-three inches, the wolf is easily the largest member of the canine family. Over 500,000 wolves once lived in harmony, roaming the Northern Americas alongside the Native American tribes and the rest of the ecosystem. Wolves live in packs, a pack essentially being a family. While the average size of a pack is six to ten, the largest confirmed pack recorded in North America can be found in Yellowstone National Park where the “Druid Pack” numbers thirty-seven strong and counting. There have been alleged reports of a pack that attacked a small Russian town killing thirty horses in just four days. This pack numbered up to almost 400 members. Animal experts remain suspicious due to the fact that this number is almost fifteen times the size of an average sized pack. Wolves heavily rely on their pack. Every member of the pack has a specific job that benefits the pack, without the pack, death would be almost imminent. The pack is set up as a hierarchy, with an alpha male and an alpha female. The alphas get the best of everything, the best part of the kill, the best sleeping spot, and the breeding rights. When hunting, one member will scout ahead and will determine the weakest member of the herd. Once determined, the rest of the pack will chase the animal down and either takes it down on the run or chase it until it tires out. Unlike many predators in the animal kingdom, wolves eat their prey alive. While wolves are known for their spine tingling howls, the howl is not the only way they communicate. “Wolf Language” so to speak, consists of many grunts, snarls, growls, yips, and whines....
The pro for the reintroduction is the ecosystem is healthier. With the reintroduction, the wolf hunts sick deer and elk. The weak are sorted out and the strong survive. The same goes for the wolves. The wolves that are injured or have diseased cannot survive. When they die scavengers get to eat their meat, which contributes to the ecosystem.
“…and this is why the caribou and the wolf are one; for the caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf that keeps the caribou strong”― Farley Mowat. This quote is a great example of the wolves keeping balance in nature, and the partnership between two different animals. The gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. They were reintroduced by the government due to the endangerment of their species. The reintroduction of the gray wolf was beneficial because it improved Yellowstone’s ecosystem, protected the wolves, and it attracted tourists.
When the reintroduction of wolves began in the state of Wisconsin, a goal of 350 wolves was set, and this number was reached successfully in a short amount of time. Once this was reached, however, the population continued to rise dramatically and exponentially, and is now in the upper 600s (Allen). The problems now come down to a few simple questions that have complex answers. Will a regulated hunt get out of control, and a repeat of the past begins? Are the wolves posing any sort of threat in the present? Who or what would a hunt benefit? First, the issue of the past must be addressed. Back in the earlier years of the United States, wolves roamed free, and when farmers moved their livestock into what was then the wolves' territo...
Wolves had live throughout parts of the world for thousands of years before humans just kept rising in population and minimizing the wolves’ population through the expansion of their territories for farm agriculture and industrialization. It is only in the United States where humans completely annihilated wolves; they did this by hunting the wolves down until the last wolf was killed in 1926. However, in 1995, 14 wolves were caught from Canada and release into Yellowstone National Park. This makes it almost 70 years since the wolves have been reintroduced back into Yellowstone National Park (17 July 2009)
Studies show that wolves play a significant role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, and could even help stave off some of the effects of climate change. They help keep large animal herd populations in check, which can benefit numerous other plan...