Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Wolves Help the Ecosystem

Yukon again. Many humans don't understand is that we keep the ecosystem in balance. Imagine a forest where there are only large, plant eating creatures roaming around, and they grow larger and larger in numbers. Soon there won't be any more forest because they eat it all, every last leave and bush and tree. Littler animals like mice, squirrels, and raccoon with no hiding places will run away from forests and areas, and the big leaf eaters like deer, elk, and moose will destroy forests from eating too much. We wolves hunt and eat those big creatures so that we can survive, and as we do that, forests can grow back all their leaves and bushes. The reintroduction of my cousins the Grey Wolves in Yellowstone Park (even though all stones look grey to me, I am color blind after all) has improved the population of the Aspen Tree population that was almost completely eaten by the elk from over grazing. Since the elk had no predators for so long, like us wolves to fear, they went anywhere they wanted, and ate EVERYTHING. So all in all, we are very important to the environment, and keep ecosystems balanced and in check! 

Wolves also maintain healthy wildlife herds by picking out young, old, sick or physically impaired animals in herds and eat them. By doing this, wolves cut down on the transmission and prevalence of diseases that attack animals in large numbers. I never really like to think we eat bad animals, but these types of animals are easier to hunt than strong and healthy prey, so it works out in all areas, for them and for us. We do a lot of positive in this world.

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