Wolves are back in Europe
and
an American tale of the wolves' return!
When I read in my local German paper that the county I grew up in was officially declared a “Wolf Region”, I just could not believe it! Those woods are not even 20 miles away from where I was born and perhaps 25 miles away from Bonn, the former capital of Germany. In my mind, Germany is way too populated for this to happen naturally.
The wolves have been seen once in a while for over two years in this region, but now there are two adorable pups, a sign that the parents feel confident there, so they can raise a family. In the article it was mentioned that the farmers around the “Wolf Region” could apply for funds from the German Government to erect electric fences to protect their livestock. It is a very encouraging sign that Germany is determined to make this change work, which may very well change the ecology for the better!
The wolves have been seen once in a while for over two years in this region, but now there are two adorable pups, a sign that the parents feel confident there, so they can raise a family. In the article it was mentioned that the farmers around the “Wolf Region” could apply for funds from the German Government to erect electric fences to protect their livestock. It is a very encouraging sign that Germany is determined to make this change work, which may very well change the ecology for the better!
It is quite astonishing that wild animals like wolves are coming back to a region as densely populated as Germany. Central Europeans not only accept them, they welcome them, as they are part of the woods. Wolves also play an important part in many German fairy tales in a not so frightening way. Germans have a special relationship with their woods and the returning wolves make them complete. There deer and wild boar roam the woods without any real natural predators. There are no bitter, cold winters anymore to cut their numbers down. On top of it, hunters have organized feeding programs for those animals to make their hunts more enjoyable.
As the trees in those woods are strictly managed for timber, this results in plenty of grass and other plants to grow. You offer the deer and wild boar a supermarket, with a lot of variety and treats. The wild boar are now more than plentiful and also feed on the food left by hunters. I read that a boar invaded a beach area in Berlin and ran away with a laptop one the the swimmers had left on his beach towel while swimming in the lake. Wild boar can be very dangerous however, and their population is hard to keep in check. Now that the wolf has entered the scene, he might bring the balance in nature back, as he did in Yellowstone National Park in America.
In less ecologically enlightened times in the early twentieth century, wolves and coyotes were seen as economic threats to livestock and farming in the American West. Liberal hunting regulations and government cash bounty programs succeeded in virtually exterminating the wolves. The last pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park was eradicated in 1926. Single wolves were seen once in a while thereafter, but in 1930 Yellowstone Park was “wolf free”. Farmers bordering on Yellowstone were even encouraged to feed the elk population so they could make it through the harsh winters. Coyotes were much more intractable. Despite draconian poisoning and bounty programs, they adapted their behaviors and litter sizes, to actually expand their ranges and numbers, expanding into areas formerly controlled by wolves - which kill coyotes.
And then things started to change. The elk population did very well and increased, but other parts of Yellowstone started to change, but not in the ways we wanted.
Beavers disappeared. As the elk loved the juicy grass and sprouting trees along the riverbanks, the beavers could no longer get the trees to build their dens and dams, or the bark which is also part of their diet. So the beavers left. Even birds were leaving along with their raptors, because the trees disappeared. As the elk population soared, they browsed away the vegetation that held the river banks stable, causing more erosion and soil loss. The whole appearance of the valleys changed and was made into an ecological desert, with only a fraction of the plant and animal species The stagnant, unmoving large herds of elk in the valleys browsed away all the diverse species of plants that supported other animals. After 70 wolf-less years, the park had completely changed in appearance as well as diversity. Yellowstone Park took notice and wanted Yellowstone to be how it used to be.
Beavers disappeared. As the elk loved the juicy grass and sprouting trees along the riverbanks, the beavers could no longer get the trees to build their dens and dams, or the bark which is also part of their diet. So the beavers left. Even birds were leaving along with their raptors, because the trees disappeared. As the elk population soared, they browsed away the vegetation that held the river banks stable, causing more erosion and soil loss. The whole appearance of the valleys changed and was made into an ecological desert, with only a fraction of the plant and animal species The stagnant, unmoving large herds of elk in the valleys browsed away all the diverse species of plants that supported other animals. After 70 wolf-less years, the park had completely changed in appearance as well as diversity. Yellowstone Park took notice and wanted Yellowstone to be how it used to be.
In 1995 they released wolves caught in Canada to bring back the park’s ecological balance. The ecosystem was changed through the food chain. With the release of the wolves, the top of the chain was altered and caused what is referred to as a ‘trophic cascade’, which tumbles down to every living thing in the ecosystem, and things started to happen.
The elk population had come to concentrate in the valleys and assembled in large herds that quickly browsed away willow, aspen and cottonwood seedlings before they could mature. As the wolf population increased, the elk’s behavior changed. They broke into smaller groups and moved around a lot more, spending more time in the heavily timbered slopes, avoiding wolf packs as they were moving around. Their increased movement helped increase the soil aeration and allowed the trees needed by the beavers to return. As the riverbank trees and vegetation returned, the rivers stabilized, returning sections of swift flowing gravel bed water needed by the spawning trout. This returned the fishing birds of prey like the bald eagle.
With the return of the willows, aspen and cottonwoods, the other master engineer of the ecology - the beaver, could return to damming up some river runs. Their dams help control the seasonal pulse of water through the valley drainages. The dams also help store water which recharges the water tables for everyone. Their cold clear pools provide habitat for insect hatches and food for the fish. This has in turn increased the numbers of amphibians, otters, muskrats, ducks and herons.
As the trees increased exponentially - their biomass rising as much as 800 percent in some cases, the songbirds and their raptors returned. The berry bushes that were favored - and stripped away by the always present elk, now were able to return, which increased the health and number of the bears - which returned them into the food chain as a controlling predator of the elk, along with the wolves.
Without the wolves to control them, the coyote population exploded. Now, with the wolves back and the coyotes moving on to less dangerous territories, rabbits, voles and mice have returned in greater numbers, which has increased the numbers of foxes, weasels, badgers, owls and hawks.
Without the wolves to control them, the coyote population exploded. Now, with the wolves back and the coyotes moving on to less dangerous territories, rabbits, voles and mice have returned in greater numbers, which has increased the numbers of foxes, weasels, badgers, owls and hawks.
It might seem counter-intuitive, but ironically enough, the elk population today is actually triple what it was in 1968! https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/wolf-reintroduction-changes-ecosystem This means that there are more large animal carcasses to support all the scavenging species - like vultures, ravens and crows, particularly through the harsh snowbound winters in the park. Bears, foxes, badgers, cougars and birds of prey are also benefited by these winter-killed carcasses.
Just introducing the wolf to Yellowstone Park has brought back the state of the park to how nature had planned it before the disrupting hand of man. Our determination to expunge our large competing predators from the lands we use here in the U.S., has brought similar changes to our fauna and flora all across the country.
Our forests are much less diverse as less prevalent tree species and berry bushes are quickly browsed out before they can get established, by our exploded whitetail, and mule deer populations. Here in the northeast, this is easily evident when looking at the woods. Next time you are driving down a road bordered by stands of trees, you will most likely see a distinct ‘browse line’. It appears as if someone has neatly clipped all the leaves from the tree branches at a uniform height of about four feet above the ground. This is clear evidence that there are too many deer around and they are likely eating any seedlings on the ground before they can grow tall enough to escape the hungry mouths.
Our forests are much less diverse as less prevalent tree species and berry bushes are quickly browsed out before they can get established, by our exploded whitetail, and mule deer populations. Here in the northeast, this is easily evident when looking at the woods. Next time you are driving down a road bordered by stands of trees, you will most likely see a distinct ‘browse line’. It appears as if someone has neatly clipped all the leaves from the tree branches at a uniform height of about four feet above the ground. This is clear evidence that there are too many deer around and they are likely eating any seedlings on the ground before they can grow tall enough to escape the hungry mouths.
So how will Germany and the rest of Europe fare in handling the resurgence of wolves into their ancestral territories? Hopefully better than we did here in the U.S. Deer fatalities in the U.S. are led by automobiles, domestic dogs allowed to run free at night, and harsh winters. (Yes, even your cuddly little lap dog Fluffy, when left to roam outside at night, will team up in ad hoc chasing packs with other neighborhood dogs and run deer to death by exhaustion - particularly fawns).
The antiquated state hunting regulations don’t help either. As evidenced in most states, hunting harvests are way down on the list of deer mortality. They are not accomplishing the desired misconception of the general public, that they are managing the deer populations. It also doesn’t help that sport hunting is down in popularity amongst the newer generations.
In America, locals were actively financially incentivized with cash bounties and open seasons to rid the landscape of our apex predators. In Germany, at least it would seem that by giving cash and practical alternatives to locals to coexist with the returning wolves, they seem to be going in the right direction.
How the local fauna and flora will change in Europe if the wolves reestablish their place in the ecosystem and re-balance the plants and animals, will be a fascinating thing to watch!
Will the wild boars be reined in, in some manner, and will we lose their destructive habits? Will indigenous trees and shrubs come back, that formerly flourished? Will we get a greater diversity of plants in the forests and animals returning as a result?
We eagerly wait to see how this approach changes the flora and fauna in Europe as the wolves return. The comparison will be amazing!
In America, locals were actively financially incentivized with cash bounties and open seasons to rid the landscape of our apex predators. In Germany, at least it would seem that by giving cash and practical alternatives to locals to coexist with the returning wolves, they seem to be going in the right direction.
How the local fauna and flora will change in Europe if the wolves reestablish their place in the ecosystem and re-balance the plants and animals, will be a fascinating thing to watch!
Will the wild boars be reined in, in some manner, and will we lose their destructive habits? Will indigenous trees and shrubs come back, that formerly flourished? Will we get a greater diversity of plants in the forests and animals returning as a result?
We eagerly wait to see how this approach changes the flora and fauna in Europe as the wolves return. The comparison will be amazing!
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