Return of the Yellowstone Wolves

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Benign neglect will be a complete reversal of the philosophy that prevailed when wolves were last in the park. At the turn of the century, Yellowstone's herds of bison, deer, elk and moose were badly depleted; only 20 to 50 buffalo roamed, versus the 2,644 there today. The public adopted a rescue mentality toward these "poor, defenseless" ungulates, and suddenly, wolves became bloodthirsty poachers to be hunted down and shot. One measure of the hostility they evoked until recently is that, of Yellowstone's four threatened or endangered species—the peregrine falcon, whooping crane, grizzly and wolf—only the last isn't being actively restored.

Bishop has thought a lot about why the white man has hated the wolf for most of history. He points out that Native Americans admire and emulate the predator, but Western civilizations identify it with the fearful, pagan and diabolic—like werewolves. One aspect of this dark link, he thinks, could be wolves' battlefield scavenging during European wars.

"For whatever reasons, we tend to project our dark side onto them—hunters 'harvest,' but wolves 'slaughter,' " said Bishop. "We say they're 'cruel' because of the difficulty they have in swiftly killing big animals. Wolves have to wound their prey, then wait to make an easier kill, or they'd be killed themselves. Their predation is no more cruel than a bird eating a bug! We call them cowardly because they run from man and act fearful when captured. Intelligent would be a better word: Evolution has taught them that attacking man never pays.

"But the basic problem man has with wolves is control, always a big issue for dogmatic thinkers," said Bishop. "Something about the wolfs combination of being smart and independent—you really can't domesticate them—just infuriates some people."

HAPPILY, the number of people who feel this way is decreasing. "Wolves belong in Yellowstone, and most people want them back here," said Bishop. "The motivation for the recovery project is aesthetic and moral. . . the impulse to have a complete ecosystem again. The debate over wolf recovery really comes down to one question: Are we ready to share the earth with another top predator?"

It seems that most Americans are. Wildlands and the wildlife in them have enjoyed increasing public support since the passage of the first Endangered Species Act in 1969. Congress approved a stronger version of the ESA in 1973, and recently reauthorized it, almost unanimously. It says something about the current debate over returning wolves to Yellowstone that its neighbors Utah and Idaho were the only holdouts. To many residents in Western states, a wolf isn't just a photogenic abstraction on a Sierra Club poster: It's a flesh-and-blood competitor for the livestock and game that are their livelihood.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print