Yellowstone is one of the few places in North America where they are not hunted or exploited on some level.
They go from being adored and watched through hundreds of people through spotting scopes, to then moving across this imaginary line and then people are watching through rifle scopes.
And last year was pretty devastating for Yellowstone wolves.
We lost about 20% of our population to human harvest.
Legal, human harvest.
You lose a key animal like the alpha male or female, the leader, that can cause a pack to fracture and dismantle.
You know, we're disrupting families.
We're disrupting rich legacies of relationships between individuals that's important to their behavior, to their ecology and the subsequent effect on these landscapes.
Have you seen a Yellowstone Wolf before?
I have not.
Well, all right.
Well, you're about to.
Couple.
I see a black and a grey right there.
Oh, my God.
Of course, you know, they have full bellies, so they're probably going to be in a travel mode here for a little while.
Eventually, they'll go and lay down and take a nap.
So you can see a wolf, and it's wonderful.
But to hear a pack of wolves howl like we just did Dude my hair is literally standing on end right now, that's crazy.
It is.
You know, if we think we ourselves as humans can kind of supplant or replace that ecological force of predation, you know, I think we're fooling ourselves.
I don't think we as the human predator is sufficient to replace those natural dynamics of a predator.
It's a job that's too big for us.
It's a job thats too big for us.
We should leave it to the professionals.
Leave it to the professionals or be willing to share that professional stage with them.
When it comes back to us, are we willing to allow a place for the wolves among us?
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