Last week I told you about a new study that seemed to indicate that merely the presence of wolves is destroying the Yellowstone elk herd. This study determined that a combination of things, some of which was the outright killing of elk by wolves and the simple presence of wolves, resulted in a sharp decline of the elk population and lower calf to cow ratios.
In the Casper Star-Tribune, the writer begins his article by stating that:
Too many missed meals may be the larger cause of the decline of elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem — not wolf predation or the elk’s fear of being eaten by wolves, according to a newly published study.
Readers are led to believe that because elk aren’t getting enough food, this is the problem with the reduction of elk and yet, the article goes on to say that the reason the elk aren’t getting to eat the food available is because of the presence of wolves.
The truth is elk populations dropped from around 18,000 to 7,000 since the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone. However you want to slice it and spin it, wolves have had an affect on this outcome. Simply because this reduction isn’t caused by direct killing by wolves, doesn’t allow us to dismiss their presence as a source of the problem.
Animal rights groups and environmentalists often want to blame poor habitat on reduced populations of animals as appears the author is attempting to do in this piece. The elk aren’t moving into the food rich meadows to eat because they have learned that they are more vulnerable to wolf predation in the open meadows. This forces them to eat food less nutritious. That is a direct influence of wolves on elk survival. You can spin that anyway you want to but that’s what it is.
Tom Remington
