The world is an interconnected ecosystem. Within this system are the predators—the characters in the stories that we love to hate. Ever since Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs encountered the Big Bad Wolf, there has been a campaign against the wolf. We are quick to judge these animals that travel in packs and prey on the noble elk and the gentle deer.
In 1926, the last wolves were killed in Yellowstone National Park. Ranchers and herders worked for the protection of their livestock. In 1966, biologists brought wolf reintroduction to Congress as a way to control the subsequent critically high elk populations that were causing ecological damage to the park. After many government studies and legal battles, the wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995.
Since that time, the positive impact of the wolf population on the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park has been dramatic. In the interconnected web of life, we sometimes underestimate how one change can ripple across the landscape.