Facts Vs. Fiction

The noun 'wolves' is often associated with words like savagery, feral, fierce, blood-thirsty, the list is unfortunately endless. In my opinion wolves are creatures of grace and beauty. Wolves are the ancestors of Man's Best Friend: the dog. So some brave soul all those years ago decided that wolves were more than the savage beast so many people see. Unfortunately it is believed that wolves have been actively hunted as far back as 12,000 to 13,000 years ago. The myths and theories that exist around wolves have become so common that it is difficult to tell what is fact and what is fiction. As well as being a popular game prize to hunt they are also killed because they threaten livestock and other popular game, such as elk. Now this is fact, and is totally understandable in my opinion. But this does not mean we have to go wipe out the species. I can also tell you that wolves have coexisted with elk and other prized game species for centuries.

Take Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming for example. In 1926 the last wolves were killed within Yellowstone's boundaries. Soon after that coyote and elk populations took to the skies. Without the wolves regulating the herds of elk, aspen and willow, two types of tree that the elk feed on a lot, were almost wiped out. And the coyote packs didn't hunt elk, instead going for the smaller mammals. This created an unstable Eco-system. So wolves are actually a vital predator within the food-chain, thinning the herds of elk and keeping the coyote population down, thus giving a chance to the willow and aspen trees and small mammals to make a comeback. I just thought that this was something that people needed to know. More from me soon, I hope!
















Sources:  http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/fact-vs-fiction