Sixty years after the extirpation of wolves in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains of America, biologist and ecologist in Yellowstone National Park reintroduced wolves into a declining ecosystem that once thrived during their presence. The reintroduction brought immense controversy into the West and continues to stir outrage among anti-wolf groups. These anti-wolf supporters argue wolves are ruthless predators that cause destruction to natural environments and livestock. Conversely wolf advocates and scientists suggest that wolves are a keystone species that are essential to the natural regulation of our Western ecosystems. Although pro and anti-wolf advocates can agree that wolves have an effect on livestock, ungulate populations and ecosystems, …show more content…
Tony Bridges an anti-wolf supporter and writer, claims that this foreign species is, “much larger and more aggressive” (Bridges, 2011), than the wolves that previously existed here. This claim is formed from the understanding that the wolves reintroduced in the lower 48 states, were transplanted from various parts of Alberta and British Columbia in Canada. Consequently this, “larger and more aggressive subspecies...has destroyed big game populations in many areas and are making a serious impact on elk, deer, moose and all other big game animals throughout their ranges” (Bridges, 2011).
Bridges believes that the reintroduction was carried through in order to spite hunting privileges of citizens. He protests,
“The biggest threat to hunting today are self-proclaimed "environmental" organizations, who want to control our outdoor resources…Not for their love of wildlife or the environment...but because it is profitable...and at the top of their priority list is to allow the spread of an apex predator that never existed in the lower 48” (Bridges,