A century of herbivores at ease was ending with Yellowstone. Salvation was logical: call the wolf

‘Jurassic Park‘He has memorable moments, but perhaps a phrase is the one that fell me the most in his day: “Life makes its way”The problem is that the hand of man exercises Too much influence on natureand the Yellowstone park It is an excellent example of how an ecosystem that was regulated perfectly was twisting due to a decision made 100 years ago: eradicate the wolves. Consequence? May the park run out of trees.

And to turn to the tortilla, the researchers had an idea: return to repopble Yellowstone with wolves.

Yellowstone in short. The arrival of European settlers to the North American west caused the expansion of the agriculture and, above all, livestock (With grazing and the Basques carrying the reins). The enemy of cattle was the wolf, since it was a direct threat and, due to its vital role for the local economy, extermination campaigns began to be carried out. The result was that, by 1930, the wolves (as well as other predators such as pumas, coyotes and bears) practically disappeared from some areas such as Yellowstone. Even the army is implied.

If the predators disappear, those that were their prey have free field to reproduce without control, and that caused that alces and deer proliferate, creating a huge imbalance in the population of herbivores and, therefore, in the flora of the park. In the end, overparation and a overpopulation of wild herbivores caused the trees to disappear from Yellowstone.

Lobos, to curra. The trees that worried were the scenes and it is not a matter of the alces to stay without food. How can we read in Oregon State UniversityThey are vital elements for birds that nest in them and for beavers, among other species. Thus, in 1995 the decision of V was madeOlver to incorporate those predators to the ecosystem.

Lobos, Bears and Pumas, another predator practically removed from the area, returned to the place they should never abandon, and the results have not taken to appear.

Results. Luke Painter, professor of ecology and conservation at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Oregon, comments that “The reintroduction of great carnivores has started a recovery process that had been paralyzed for decades. ” studyThey detail that the “price” is the sustained decrease in population of the Cervus canadensisallowing the quarrels to experience exceptional growth.

This “trophic waterfall” examined 87 rhods of poplars in northern Yellowstone, finding that 43% of them presented a new population of small trees between five and ten centimeters in diameter, being the first positive count since the 1940s.

They comment that the density of grazing remains the dominant factor for the regeneration of poplar, but that that Introduction of predators has relieved the load that herbivores exert in the ecosystem. In addition, the study rules out changes in the climate as the main cause of that recovery, once again influencing the importance of the reintroduction of the wolf as the element that has caused “changes in the distribution of the ALCE, giving rise to recovery”.

The Wolf as a lever. Not everyone is on that ship. A previous study On the part of researchers at Utah State University and the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point put on the table that, although the role of the wolf had been important for the recovery of poplar, its role was exaggerated due to the way in which previous measurements were made.

But what has happened in Yellowstone is not an isolated story. That persecution of the wolf has been lived in other areas and, in Europe, due to its impact on livestock, they are also promulgated laws for extermination. The ecological consequences are similar to the views in Yellowstone and, in Scotland, there is an overpopulation of red deer that are ending local forests. At a time when we need trees so that They catch co₂it is already being raised release more than 150 wolves in the ‘Highlands’ Scottish to control deer and save forests.

While some release them… But as we are condemned to repeat the story, at the end of 2024, the Permanent Committee of the Bern agreement voted in favor of reduce wolf protection status. This makes it “strictly protected” to “protected”, which opens the door to A desire on the part of certain parliamentariansfarmers and hunters: that can bother the wolf. And not with paint ballsas in Netherlands.

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