Project Coyote’s Post

Since their reintroduction into Yellowstone in 1995, wolves have not only changed the behavior of other animals, they've also restructured the land and the flow of water—all for the better. 🐺🌱 Left unchecked, 🦌 deer and elk overgrazed much of Yellowstone, stripping its vegetation. Through hunting, the wolves not only thinned out the weak but forced the grazers to stay on the move, allowing trees in certain valleys to grow five times their length in just six years. This caused the number of migratory and songbirds to increase in Yellowstone. Beaver populations also grew because beavers like to eat trees, and like wolves, they too change their surroundings. Reptiles, otters, ducks, fish, and amphibians all benefitted from the dams that beavers 🦫 built. In some areas, wolves reduced the coyote population by about 40%. This meant more rabbits and mice, which in turn benefitted other predators like badgers, foxes, hawks, and eagles. There are even more bears 🐻 now because they scavenge on wolf kills and pluck berries from regenerated shrubs. And the rivers changed because of the wolves too. By keeping grazers off the riverbanks, there is now less erosion, and therefore, stronger soil fertility, which means more flowing water. All this in just 25 years. We have a lot to learn from wolves. 🎥 Comfort Theory | Filipe DeAndrade, Project Coyote and #CaptureCoexistence Ambassador | Brian Moghari #Yellowstone #Wolves #GrayWolves #CompassionateCoexistence #WildCarnivores

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