What is a result of reintroducing wolves back into Yellowstone National Park?

Wolves are causing a trophic cascade of ecological change, including helping to increase beaver populations and bring back aspen, and vegetation.

How long did it take to reintroduce wolves into Yellowstone?

For the next several decades, elk cycled through population booms and collapses along with climate fluctuations; hard winters left the ground littered with hundreds of the carcasses of elk that had starved to death. Then, between 1995 and 1997, wildlife officials reintroduced 41 wolves to Yellowstone.

How much territory do wolves cover in Yellowstone?

Wolf packs are fiercely defensive of their territories, which range in size from 30 to 2,500 square miles. In Yellowstone, the average territory size is 165 square miles overall, with territories in the northern section of the park being about one-third the size of the ranges in the interior of the park.

Is there a plan to reintroduce wolves in Yellowstone?

Reintroduction would result in wolf population recovery (ten breeding pairs, about 100 wolves/area for three successive years) in and around Yellowstone National Park and in central Idaho by 2002. Only the establishment of wolves in these two areas is the subject of this proposal.

How many wolves were killed in Yellowstone National Park?

Between 1914 and 1926, at least 136 wolves were killed in the park; by the 1940s, wolf packs were rarely reported. By the mid-1900s, wolves had been almost entirely eliminated from the 48 states. An intensive survey in the 1970s found no evidence of a wolf population in Yellowstone, although an occasional wolf probably wandered into the area.

When did the gray wolf return to Yellowstone?

With its passing, the stage was set for the return of the wolf to Yellowstone when the gray wolf was listed as endangered and recovery mandated in 1974. Immediately, the National Park Service began planning a wolf homecoming in Yellowstone—their native territory and historic home.

Which is the best book about Yellowstone wolves?

Dive into the 25 years of wolf recovery the ecosystem with this new book from the Yellowstone Wolf Project, Yellowstone Wolves: Science and Discovery in the World’s First National Park. This important book offers the most complete synthesis of the history, science, and management of wolves in Yellowstone.