Science - Current Event (1)

Are Wolves the Pronghorn's Best Friend?

This article is about how wolves help pronghorn's survive. It is about a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society about the decline in another species. This species is the pronghorn. There research told them that wolves actually help the pronghorn's survive. This is because the wolves kill and eat coyotes who eat pronghorns. (Wolves don't eat pronghorn's because it is not sufficient for them because they are so big. In the article it said, " It would be like trying to feed an entire family on a single Big Mac.") There was a research done over a three-year period in Grand Teton National Park. What they did was they radio collared more than 100 fawns in areas with no wolves and areas with wolves. They found out that only 10 percent of fawns survived in areas without wolves and 34 percent of the pronghorn fawns survived in areas with wolves. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced and as a result, the pronghorn population increased by 50 percent. As a result, there are now less then 200 animals in Grand Teton National Park ( Part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem).

I believe that this affected the whole ecosystem. Since there are more pronghorns around, the animals that eat the same food as the ronghorns will not have a sufficient amount of food to eat because they will be out numbered by these unique North American animals that resemble African antelope. I don't think this is right. It is not fair that the other animal populations got reduced because of the pronghorns. I think that the pronghorn population should be reduced. This would also mean reducing the wolf population. Basically, I think both the Pronghorn and the Wolf population should decrease.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303145300.htm