[plemer]

While I find your counter argument vague, it did prompt me to dig in and find that human hunting is arguably still the bigger suppressor of elk population. However, that’s been going on since the ‘40s.

The reintroduction of wolves is associated with an immediate, steady, and durable decline in elk - i.e. pushed the ecosystem past an inflection point into a new equilibrium.

[bhaak]

It’s also possible that wolves hunt in a different way than humans, or different types (regarding age, gender, or health maybe) of elks.

It’s an interesting question and this could be empirically tested if human hunting would be slowly reduced.

[specialist]

IIRC:

Without risk of harm, elk and deer linger near water. This tramples the shoreline. And they love eating noshing on (aspen) saplings. Over time, the shorelines become barren.

With the reintroduction of wolves, shorelines are no longer safe havens. Aspens have returned. With aspens, song birds have returned. Trees shade the water (eg streams), so fish are happier. Trees stabilize the top soil, reducing erosion, allows other plants to become reestablished.

I dimly recall beavers returned too.

--

Aha. I was mostly right (or hallucinating). Here's perplexity link for "impact of return of wolves to yellowstone".

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/impact-of-return-of-wolves-...

I learned about the birds returning because of the wolves while volunteering at Audubon. That linked summary doesn't go into those details.

--

Update: I should've read the OC first. My bad. TIL: (too many) bison also negatively impact riverbanks. I had thought (misremembered) that overall impact of bison was positive. Does Yellowstone need more cougars?

[scott_w]

That’s a good point: hunters probably prefer strong elk but wolves prefer weak elk. I recall going to a walking with wolves experience in the Lake District where she explained that predators strengthen their prey by removing sick and those with genetic issues from the gene pool.

[rustyconover]

Yellowstone is a national park, you can’t hunt anything inside the park’s boundaries. Wolves can.

[bhaak]

Yellowstone park has a policy of natural regulation (since the 70s IIRC). The surrounding areas not necessarily.