Wolves in Yellowstone

by Super, Dude, and Mom

Yellowstone National Park is a beautiful and fascinating place, but for many years, it was missing something important. The government thought that wolves were dangerous, so all the wolves were shot and killed. Fortunately, the wolves are back!

Wolves bring the food chain into balance. If there are too many herbivores, they eat all the food and then they begin to die of overpopulation. When wolves reduce the population of herbivores, they don’t overpopulate and there is enough food.

Wolves scare the elk, bison, and bighorn sheep up to higher ground. The herds stop grazing on lower ground so the grass and wildflowers can grow. This allows smaller animals like birds, ground squirrels, and insects to move in.

Yellowstone is part of the wolves’ natural habitat. If wolves aren’t allowed to live in their natural habitat, they begin to attack people’s livestock.

When people visit Yellowstone, they want to experience nature. Wolves are part of nature. People enjoy seeing and hearing wolves in Yellowstone.