scholarly journals Restor(y)ing the ‘fierce green fire’: animal agency, wolf conservation and environmental memory in Yellowstone National Park

BJHS Themes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 151-168
Author(s):  
KAREN R. JONES
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Biological Knowledge ◽  
Aldo Leopold ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Ecological Science ◽  
Animal Agency ◽  
Carrier Animal

AbstractThis paper tracks human–animal entanglements through one particular species, Canis lupus, the wolf, with a view to exploring how this contested predator might be used to unpack normative assumptions about wildlife science, conservation practice and storytelling. The focus of attention here is on Yellowstone National Park and the century-long struggle to eradicate and then restore the wolf based on the shifting rubrics of science and environmental ethics. The ‘wild heart’ of North America and a centre of scientific and popular environmental mythology, Yellowstone presents a useful terrain (both material and contextual) in which to theorize the wolf as an environmental agent and explore its special provenance within an evolving narrative of ecological science. More specifically, the landmark story of restor(y)ation that played out in the national park serves to illuminate the complex web of temporality, narrative and memory that frames our configurations of animal agency. Wiped out in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and ruminated on in the interwar period, the wolf was returned to ancestral haunts in the 1990s (to great fanfare) as a charismatic poster animal for environmental consciousness and a vital ‘missing link’ in the psychological and biotic fabric of the landscape. Ornamented with what conservationist Aldo Leopold famously called a ‘fierce green fire’, the wolf became a carrier animal for Yellowstone's environmental memory, transporting with it the fates of other threatened species and the promise of an enlightened Ecological Age. Beneath this teleological tale of expanding biological knowledge and ethical awakening lies a convoluted (and interesting) story that reveals the sinuous connections between the material and the imagined animal as well as the challenges and the complexities of reading non-human traces.

Coyote foraging ecology and vigilance in response to gray wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Adam Switalski
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Large Carnivore ◽  
Continuous Source

Coyotes (Canis latrans) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have lived in the absence of wolves (Canis lupus) for over 60 years. I examined whether wolf reintroduction in 1995 and 1996 in YNP influenced coyote vigilance and foraging ecology. From December 1997 to July 2000, my co-workers and I collected 1708 h of coyote activity budgets. Once wolves became established in the Park, they once again provided a continuous source of carrion in the Lamar Valley and we found that coyotes began feeding on carcasses throughout the year. Although we documented that wolves killed coyotes, it also became clear that surviving coyotes quickly adjusted their behaviors when wolves were present. When coyotes were near wolves or in areas of high wolf use, they fed on carcasses much more; however, they increased the amount of time spent in vigilance activities and decreased rest. There appears to be a trade-off in which wolf kills provide a quick source of food that is energetically advantageous to coyotes; however, attendant costs included increased vigilance, decreased rest, and a higher risk of being killed. Changes in the behavior of coyotes in response to the reintroduction of this large carnivore may ultimately have wide-ranging cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.

The acceptance of a new breeding male into a wild wolf pack

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R Stahler ◽  
Douglas W Smith ◽  
Robert Landis
Keyword(s):  
Direct Observation ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Alpha Male ◽  
Stereotyped Behaviors ◽  
Close Range

The acceptance of an unfamiliar male wolf (Canis lupus) into a wolf pack after the recent death of the pack's alpha male was observed and filmed at close range in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, U.S.A. A 2½-year-old dispersing male from a neighboring pack was accepted as a new pack member over the course of a 6-h interaction. This observation involved stereotyped behaviors and canid body posturing in association with dominance/submission, play solicitation, and courtship. Although documented before via radiotelemetry, this interaction marks the first direct observation of a wild wolf pack accepting and incorporating a strange wolf as a breeder and pack leader.

scholarly journals Unusual Behavior by Bison, Bison bison, Toward Elk, Cervus elaphus, and Wolves, Canis lupus

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. David Mech ◽  
Rick T. McIntyre ◽  
Douglas W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bison Bison ◽  
Unusual Behavior

Incidents are described of Bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone National Park mauling and possibly killing a young Elk (Cervus elaphus) calf, chasing wolves (Canis lupus) off Elk they had just killed or were killing, and keeping the wolves away for extended periods. During one of the latter cases, the Bison knocked a wolf-wounded Elk down. Bison were also seen approaching wolves that were resting and sleeping, rousting them, following them to new resting places and repeating this behavior. These behaviors might represent some type of generalized hyper-defensiveness that functions as an anti-predator strategy.

scholarly journals Foraging and Feeding Ecology of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus): Lessons from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

2006 ◽  
Vol 136 (7) ◽  
pp. 1923S-1926S ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Stahler ◽  
Douglas W. Smith ◽  
Debra S. Guernsey
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Gray Wolf

scholarly journals DNA Fingerprinting of Wolves

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 155-156
Author(s):  
Patricia Rabenold ◽  
Mauricio De Gortari
Keyword(s):  
Dna Fingerprinting ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
National Park ◽  
Genetic Test ◽  
Genetic Purity ◽  
Breeding Structure ◽  
Viable Population

There are proposals to reintroduce (Canis lupus) to Yellowstone National Park through translocation of individuals from other populations. Ideally, these wolves should have a genotype similar to that possessed by the subspecies previously found in the Park. This genetic similarity would enhance the probability that genetically based adaptations to the environment of the Park were present, and thus enhance the likelihood that a viable population would be established with minimum animals and effort. Concern has been expressed about preserving the genetic purity of potentially translocated wolves. A genetic test which would permit differentiation between restored pure wolves and clandestinely introduced ones, as well as between pure wolf and wolf x coyote, and wolf x dog hybrid genotypes would be valuable. Furthermore, it is important to understand the power of DNA fingerprinting as a tool for monitoring breeding structure of the restored pack(s) at intervals subsequent to their release in Yellowstone.

scholarly journals Breeding displacement in gray wolves (Canis lupus): Three males usurp breeding position and pup rearing from a neighboring pack in Yellowstone National Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy SunderRaj ◽  
Jack W. Rabe ◽  
Kira A. Cassidy ◽  
Rick McIntyre ◽  
Daniel R. Stahler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Gray Wolves ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Dominant Female ◽  
Territorial Group

Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) are territorial, group living carnivores that live in packs typically consisting of a dominant breeding pair and their offspring. Breeding tenures are relatively short and competitive, with vacancies usually occurring following a breeder’s death, and are often filled by unrelated immigrants or by relatives of the previous breeder. The frequency and conditions of active breeder displacements are poorly understood. Position changes in the dominance hierarchy are common yet rarely documented in detail. We describe a turnover in male breeding position in a wolf pack by males from a neighboring pack in mid-summer 2016 in Yellowstone National Park. Over the course of two months, three males from the Mollie’s pack displaced the breeding male of the neighboring Wapiti Lake pack, joined the pack’s two adult females, and subsequently raised the previous male’s four approximately three-month old pups. In the four years following the displacement (2017 to 2020), at least one of the intruding males has successfully bred with the dominant female and most years with a subordinate female (who was one of the pups at the time of displacement). The pack reared pups to adulthood each year. Male breeding displacements are likely influenced by male-male competition and female mate choice. These changes are the result of individuals competing to improve breeding position and may lead to increased pack stability and greater reproductive success. We report in detail on the behavior of a closely observed breeding displacement and we discuss the adaptive benefits of the change.

Factors affecting gray wolf (Canis lupus) encounter rate with elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (9) ◽  
pp. 1032-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.W. Martin ◽  
L.D. Mech ◽  
J. Fieberg ◽  
M.C. Metz ◽  
D.R. MacNulty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
National Park ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Encounter Rates ◽  
Hunting Success ◽  
Kill Rate ◽  
The Relationship

Despite encounter rates being a key component of kill rate, few studies of large carnivore predation have quantified encounter rates with prey, the factors that influence them, and the relationship between encounter rate and kill rate. The study’s primary motivation was to determine the relationship between prey density and encounter rate in understanding the mechanism behind the functional response. Elk (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) population decline and variable weather in northern Yellowstone National Park provided an opportunity to examine how these factors influenced wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758) encounter rates with elk. We explored how factors associated with wolf kill rate and encounter rate in other systems (season, elk density, elk group density, average elk group size, snow depth, wolf pack size, and territory size) influenced wolf–elk encounter rate in Yellowstone National Park. Elk density was the only factor significantly correlated with wolf–elk encounter rate, and we found a nonlinear density-dependent relationship that may be a mechanism for a functional response in this system. Encounter rate was correlated with number of elk killed during early winter but not late winter. Weak effects of snow depth and elk group size on encounter rate suggest that these factors influence kill rate via hunting success because kill rate is the product of hunting success and encounter rate.

scholarly journals Differential wolf-pack-size persistence and the role of risk when hunting dangerous prey

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (12) ◽  
pp. 1473-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon M. Barber-Meyer ◽  
L. David Mech ◽  
Wesley E. Newton ◽  
Bridget L. Borg
Keyword(s):  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Pack Size ◽  
Alces Americanus ◽  
Denali National Park

Risk to predators hunting dangerous prey is an emerging area of research and could account for possible persistent differences in gray wolf (Canis lupus) pack sizes. We documented significant differences in long-term wolf-pack-size averages and variation in the Superior National Forest (SNF), Denali National Park and Preserve, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon, Canada (). The SNF differences could be related to the wolves’ risk when hunting primary prey, for those packs () hunting moose (Alces americanus) were significantly larger than those () hunting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (, ). Our data support the hypothesis that differential pack-size persistence may be perpetuated by differences in primary prey riskiness to wolves, and we highlight two important extensions of this idea: (1) the potential for wolves to provision and defend injured packmates from other wolves and (2) the importance of less-risky, buffer prey to pack-size persistence and year-to-year variation.

scholarly journals Social environment and genetics underlie body site‐specific microbiomes of Yellowstone National Park gray wolves ( Canis lupus )

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra L. DeCandia ◽  
Kira A. Cassidy ◽  
Daniel R. Stahler ◽  
Erin A. Stahler ◽  
Bridgett M. vonHoldt
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Body Site ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Gray Wolves
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