The Incredible Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone

As in most Western countries, the wolf suffered intense persecution in the United States as soon as settlers arrived.

Despite the creation of Yellowstone National Park in the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana in 1872, the wolf was still unprotected and was eradicated from the region in the early 20th century.

The ecological impact of its disappearance was very quickly felt: as early as 1929, a team of scientists visiting Yellowstone noticed a great deterioration of the flora and of the park as a whole.

Having no more predators to control their populations, elk have indeed proliferated and ravaged certain plant species;

their overcrowding has also caused severe soil erosion.

For 30 years, rangers have had to do the work of wolves to try to save the ecosystem, and themselves kill a number of elk each year.

Coyotes have also multiplied, endangering pronghorn populations.

The balance of the park was totally upset, and the American Congress threatened to stop funding it if it was not taken in hand.

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Immediate beneficial effects

Seeing the state of this natural area in decline, as early as the 1940s, park managers, biologists and conservationists began a campaign for the reintroduction of the wolf to Yellowstone, in an attempt to save the degraded ecosystem.

But this predator was still considered a pest and it was not until the

of 1973, a federal law enacted to protect endangered species, that the wolf was finally protected, paving the way for its legal reintroduction into the park. .

The first 14 animals, captured in Canada, were released in January 1995. The operation being a success, it was repeated the following year with 17 other wolves.

Packs naturally formed and the animals began to breed in the first year.

Their total population ended up stabilizing itself around a hundred individuals.

Each of them killing 22 elk per year on average, these large herbivores are no longer a problem, and the flora is back to what it was.

The willows and poplars, which had been particularly hard hit by the overpopulation of elk, are growing normally again, protecting the soil from erosion.

Chain reactions

Coyotes have also become the natural prey of wolves, as well as their rivals, which has had the effect of profoundly restructuring their populations within the park.

Just two years after the reintroduction of wolves, the number of coyotes had already dropped by 50%.

Foxes, which are hunted by coyotes, have seen their numbers increase, helping to control the multiplication of rodents.

And thanks to this, roots, seeds and insects from the park stopped being plundered, allowing the flora to regain momentum.

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