ACTION
After decades of Yellowstone being in poor condition, with overpopulated herds of Elk, decreasing native grazers such as the Bighorn sheep, and a severe decline and poor condition of trees, grasslands and forest vegetation, biologists decided it was time to reintroduce the top predators to restore the balance so desperately needed.
In 1995 the northern species of gray wolf was introduced to the yellowstone ecosystem. This species Canis Lupis Occidentalis is slightly larger than the recorded Yellowstone wolves, so speculation was drawn that they would over hunt the Elk and it would have negative impacts. However the reintroduction of the wolf was an extremely positive resolution to the imbalance and degradation of the park. The gray wolf was one of the first species to be listed as endangered (1967) under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wolves_in_Yellowstone |