Wolf (Canis lupus)

[TheNormalGuy]

Quote: King Kodiak said:

 "Incredible how much elk these wolves kill"

That is a very appreciated comment Kodiak. Thank you.

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I should note that wolves do not eliminate elk populations and are not vermin. They re-stabilized an ecosystem missing a key predator for 70 years [which was the wolf, exterminated in the 1920s of the yellowstone sadly].

Brown & Black Bears [in a lesser way] gained so much from wolves being reintroduced and nearly all herbivores [as well as small predators as well, since their preys either came back or grew back an healthy population number] populations except elk rose in numbers.

Elk population grew healthier each year because the flaws [sick, genetics, old] were eliminated as well as the competition among the specie decreased with the predation from wolves.

The elk were eating all the vegetation and dying by hundreds each winter due to lack of food. They were their own enemies in fact, since they had to compete for food.

Yes, indeed, it got to that point with an herbivore : Battling amongst its own species for veggies.

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Bears need an huge amount of food to survive winter by gaining a massive fat %, which help the bear body to stay cool [not to freeze or being cold] during the winter alongside their extraordinary system which can lower the metabolism activity for an minimal energy lost. Without wolves, they wouldn't have relatively free elk or bison carcasses to gorge themselves.

Also, bears eat a lot of fruits, berries and wildflowers. Don't forget that any bear except the polar bear [Almost exclusively carnivore] & The Sloth Bear [Almost Exclusively Insectivore] are omnivorous.

Before wolves regulate the elk population, they overgrazed and destroy the vegetative landscape & even eroding waterbanks. Since elks have a good height & an good neck length, they easily reached for fruits in trees and leaves [Might need to check what i said here but i find highly accurate and logical].

The fact is that they aren't picky grazers, as bison are .

[i]Bears were short on berries, flowers. they were short of high protein meals provided by wolves.
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Coyotes prospered and became the dominant predator of the Yellowstone Winter Landscape for 70 years, ruling as the king pin predator alongside the notorious Bald & Golden Eagle

[Bears sleeping winter in a den, shallow tree, hole, big rock, Brobear or nearly every member here know better than i do.]

Bison were fine and in the process of recovering from the near extinction they suffered & didn't need regulation just yet.

Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Goats & White-Tailed & Mule Deer & Pronghorn were all outnumbered by elks and being dominated in the [i]Interspecific Competition for food.

Elk, in the absence of wolf, adapted to new habitats from their usual prairie, plains, valley and forest line. They were everywhere, literally. They didn't avoid any areas they would when wolves are presents, and multiple studies have note, predict, observe, study and proved this behavior.
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[i]To make it short, wolves are what the lions are in Africa in term of key species.  

@Pckts surely can add or correct me if i'm wrong lmao for the below.[/i]

Remove all lions, what would happen ?

Overpopulation of Giraffe, Elephants, Buffalo, Rhino, Wildebeest, Zebra, Hippo. Since they will grow with just an occasional lost of a calf or an adult [zebra, wildebeest] from time to time from a pack of endangered wild dog, a bold leopard, a very very bold cheetah, hyenas and finally, the nile crocodile.

[i]Hyenas would rule Africa since they are very social animals as opposed to leopards. Hyenas are hunters that are relying on stamina and their bite force. They do not have the power of a lion or a leopard to bring down a wildebeest nor can they grapple it down [because you know a cat claw vs a dog claw ....(Hyenas have their own family, but close enough to canids)]

With that idea and knowledge, they are classified as scavengers and opportunist predators. They have a neat smelling and hearing. Wild Dogs & Cheetahs are cursorial predators that mostly hunts relatively small to medium size antelopes [Impala, Springbok, Thompson Gazelle, etc]. 
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[i]The upper limit includes in general Topi, Hartebeest and compagny.[/i]

Jackals would probably go extinct in a matters of decades if lions went extinct [feeding on kills] as would maybe the [i]arctic fox if the polar bear had to become extinct.

If did a list, these herbivores would steadily grow nearly exponentially to the capacity limit of their habitats following curves of growth. All these species have fast to very long gestation [time lapse between the mating of an individual and the resulting offspring and then how much time before they become again in oestrus [being receptive to reproducing].

- Elephant
- Rhinoceros
- Hippo
- Giraffes
- Cape Buffalo
- Common Eland
- Greater Kudu
- Zebra
- Wildebeest
- Sable Antelope
- Roan Antelope
- Gemsbok

They are too big to be killed in a regular interval or/and have massive horns that are extremely dangerous (Gemsbok, Roan and Sable Antelope) for a leopard to tackle them.

Lions are extremely important. The same responsability of being such a key specie can be attributed to tigers in Southern Asia, Wolves in Europe while the ecosystem of South America got both the cougar and jaguar as key regulators of the big wildlife.

Truth be told, it seems that Oceania [Which consists of nearly Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and many small islands] is missing that key predator. The Dingo is maybe the only carnivoran predator of Australia weighing over 10 kg, and unfortunately, i might very well be right.

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When a species battles for the same food among its own species, it is called [i]Intraspecific Competition

When a species battles for same food with other species, it is called Interspecific Competition. [For example : A wolf pack & a bear][/i] Reply