Yellowstone Wolves

Yellowstone Wolves

Science and Discovery in the World's First National Park

Edited by: Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler and Daniel R. MacNulty
Preface by: Jane Goodall

University of Chicago Press | 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226728483

Overview
Contents

About this book

In 2020, it will have been twenty-five years since one of the greatest wildlife conservation and restoration achievements of the twentieth century took place: the reintroduction of wolves to the world’s first national park, Yellowstone. Eradicated after the park was established, then absent for seventy years, these iconic carnivores returned to Yellowstone in 1995 when the US government reversed its century-old policy of extermination and—despite some political and cultural opposition—began the reintroduction of forty-one wild wolves from Canada and northwest Montana. In the intervening decades, scientists have studied their myriad behaviors, from predation to mating to wolf pup play, building a one-of-a-kind field study that has both allowed us to witness how the arrival of top predators can change an entire ecosystem and provided a critical window into impacts on prey, pack composition, and much else.

Here, for the first time in a single book, is the incredible story of the wolves’ return to Yellowstone National Park as told by the very people responsible for their reintroduction, study, and management. Anchored in what we have learned from Yellowstone, highlighting the unique blend of research techniques that have given us this knowledge, and addressing the major issues that wolves still face today, this book is as wide-ranging and awe-inspiring as the Yellowstone restoration effort itself. We learn about individual wolves, population dynamics, wolf-prey relationships, genetics, disease, management and policy, newly studied behaviors and interactions with other species, and the rippling ecosystem effects wolves have had on Yellowstone’s wild and rare landscape. Perhaps most importantly of all, the book also offers solutions to ongoing controversies and debates.

Featuring a foreword by Jane Goodall, beautiful images, a companion online documentary by celebrated filmmaker Bob Landis, and contributions from more than seventy wolf and wildlife conservation luminaries from Yellowstone and around the world, Yellowstone Wolves is a gripping, accessible celebration of the extraordinary Yellowstone Wolf Project—and of the park through which these majestic and important creatures once again roam.

Author information

Douglas W. Smith has studied wolves for more than forty years. In 1994 he was hired by the National Park Service in Yellowstone National Park as the project biologist to reintroduce wolves, and in 1997 he became the project leader, a position he still holds today. Besides wolves in Yellowstone, he is also responsible for supervising the park’s bird, elk, and beaver programs. He is coauthor, most recently, of Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Daniel R. Stahler is the Yellowstone Wolf Project’s lead biologist and the project leader of the Yellowstone Cougar Project. In addition, he helps manage the elk program and is Yellowstone National Park’s threatened and endangered species coordinator, working with species like lynx, wolverine, and grizzly bears. Daniel R. MacNulty is associate professor of wildlife ecology in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University and was one of the first volunteers hired by the Yellowstone Wolf Project. He is also coauthor of Wolves on the Hunt.

Reviews

“Yellowstone Wolves summarizes over two decades of hard work, involving dozens of dedicated scientists and advocates, to bring these wolves back to Yellowstone. . . . Their voices are skillfully combined to tell the many-faceted narratives in this marvelous book. . . . The overall success of this long-term effort provides information that will be of inestimable value to other restoration projects, sharing methods that can help wolves and humans coexist in a changing world and an example of what can happen if people unite to give Mother Nature a chance.”

— Jane Goodall, from the foreword

"Reintroducing the wolf to Yellowstone is arguably the world’s greatest wildlife experiment. The wolves’ progress has been documented meticulously by a team of hiking, driving and flying biologists and passionate volunteers—so much so that no wolf study comes close to yielding its abundance of information. The research generated has been distilled into a new book,Yellowstone Wolves, assembled by three of the biologists who studied the wolves’ return."

— New York Times

“Smith and his colleagues have graced us with the most comprehensive and elegant book ever written about the Yellowstone wolves. They take us deep intothe human dimensions of wolf recovery while also giving usexceptional insights about social behavior not only for wolves, but for animal societies in general.”

— Mark W. Moffett, author of "The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall"

“I consider the restoration of the gray wolf into the northwestern United States to be the single most important event in the past fifty years of wildlife conservation and management. This volume will serve as a major reference for years as it covers the key social/ecological/behavioral/management issues related to the wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Virtually all of the principal individuals who have been involved in wolf investigations and management across the continent have contributed.”

— James M. Peek, professor emeritus, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho

“I can’t praise this book enough. From the foreword by Jane Goodall to David Mech at the end, to all the now nearly lifetime work ofresearchers dedicated to this grand ecological experiment, important conservation effort, and inspirational project, Yellowstone Wolves is a model of success that will not only endure, but grow and sprout hope and inspiration globally. Bravo!”

— Bernd Heinrich, author of "Mind of the Raven," "The Homing Instinct," and "White Feathers"

“Wolves are surrounded by conflict and controversy, the substance of which has been dimmed by a veil of scientific uncertainty. Yellowstone Wolves is a readable and authoritative account about this iconic species and magical place, written by the scientists, managers, and conservationists who did the work. Read this book and learn what these on-the-ground professionals really know and think about wolves in the Yellowstone ecosystem.”

— James A. Estes, author of "Serendipity: An Ecologist’s Quest to Understand Nature"

“Very informative. Every reader of this book will learn something new and interesting about wolves, their ecology, or how they compare to other species in the animal world. It will be a great resource, sought out as the de facto authority on wolf knowledge and discovery for Yellowstone most certainly, but also on how the knowledge gained lends itself to understanding wolves elsewhere. Compelling.”

— Dean Cluff, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Canada

“Yellowstone Wolves is a Herculean attempt to synthesize research on Yellowstone National Park subsequent to wolf recovery. It is likely to be touted as the definitive work on the subject for years. This is a necessary, wonderful book.”

— Mark Boyce, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"A gathering of scientific essays on the natural history of the reintroduced wolf population in Yellowstone National Park. Wolves were long a key predator in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem before they were extirpated. In 1995, they were reintroduced in what the editors characterize as 'a change of heart.' That change of heart is 'the single most important fact of wolf recovery everywhere.' . . . A welcome contribution to the conservation-biology literature on wolves."

— Kirkus Reviews

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Study Area Map Free access PDF PDF	x
A Note on Accompanying Video and Individual Interviews Robert K. Landis Free access PDF PDF	xi
Foreword Jane Goodall Free access PDF PDF	xiii
Preface Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler and Daniel R. MacNulty Free access PDF PDF	xv
PART 1 History and Reintroduction
1 Historical and Ecological Context for Wolf Recovery Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Daniel R. MacNulty and Lee H. Whittlesey Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	3
BOX 1.1 Wolf History and Surveys in Yellowstone National Park John Weaver Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	6
2 How Wolves Returned to Yellowstone Steven H. Fritts, Rebecca J. Watters, Edward E. Bangs, Douglas W. Smith and Michael K. Phillips Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	13
BOX 2.1 To Reintroduce or Not to Reintroduce, That Is the Question Diane Boyd Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	19
Guest Essay: Why Are Yellowstone Wolves Important? L. David Mech Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	26
PART 2 Behavioral and Population Ecology
3 Essential Biology of the Wolf Foundations and Advances Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Tim Coulson and Douglas W. Smith Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	31
4 Ecology of Family Dynamics in Yellowstone Wolf Packs Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. Smith, Kira A. Cassidy, Erin E. Stahler, Matthew C. Metz, Rick McIntyre and Daniel R. MacNulty Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	42
BOX 4.1 Naming Wolf Packs Daniel R. Stahler Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	45
5 Territoriality and Competition between Wolf Packs Kira A. Cassidy, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Daniel R. MacNulty, Erin E. Stahler and Matthew C. Metz Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	61
BOX 5.1 Auditory Profile: The Howl of the Wolf John B. Theberge and Mary T. Theberge Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	64
6 Population Dynamics and Demography Douglas W. Smith, Kira A. Cassidy, Daniel R. Stahler, Daniel R. MacNulty, Quinn Harrison, Ben Balmford, Erin E. Stahler, Ellen E. Brandell and Tim Coulson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	77
Guest Essay: Yellowstone Wolves Are Important Because They Changed Science Rolf O. Peterson and Trevor S. Peterson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	93
PART 3 Genetics and Disease
7 Yellowstone Wolves at the Frontiers of Genetic Research Daniel R. Stahler, Bridgett M. von Holdt, Elizabeth Heppenheimer and Robert K. Wayne Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	97
8 The K Locus Rise of the Black Wolf Rena M. Schweizer, Daniel R. Stahler, Daniel R. MacNulty, Tim Coulson, Phil Hedrick, Rachel Johnston, Kira A. Cassidy, Bridgett M. von Holdt and Robert K. Wayne Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	108
9 Infectious Diseases in Yellowstone’s Wolves Ellen E. Brandell, Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, Andrew P. Dobson, Douglas W. Smith and Peter J. Hudson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	121
Guest Essay: Why Are Yellowstone Wolves Important? A European Perspective Olof Liberg Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	134
PART 4 Wolf-Prey Relationships
10 How We Study Wolf-Prey Relationships Douglas W. Smith, Matthew C. Metz, Daniel R. Stahler and Daniel R. MacNulty Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	139
BOX 10.1 Nine-Three- Alpha Douglas W. Smith Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	140
BOX 10.2 The Bone Collectors Ky Koitzsch and Lisa Koitzsch Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	144
11 Limits to Wolf Predatory Performance Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler and Douglas W. Smith Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	149
BOX 11.1 Tougher Times for Yellowstone Wolves Reflected in Tooth Wear and Fracture Blaire Van Valkenburgh Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	155
12 What Wolves Eat and Why Matthew C. Metz, Mark Hebblewhite, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Daniel R. MacNulty, Aimee Tallian and John A. Vucetich Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	157
BOX 12.1 Bison in Wood Buffalo National Park L. N. Carbyn Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	167
13 Wolf Predation on Elk in a Multi-Prey Environment Matthew C. Metz, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Daniel R. MacNulty and Mark Hebblewhite Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	169
BOX 13.1 Generalizing Wolf-Prey Dynamics across Systems: Yellowstone, Banff, and Isle Royale Mark Hebblewhite Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	171
BOX 13.2 The Predator’s Perspective: Biomass of Prey Matthew C. Metz Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	173
BOX 13.3 Lessons from Denali National Park: Stability in Predator-Prey Dynamics Is a Pause on the Way to Somewhere Else Layne Adams Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	182
14 Population Dynamics of Northern Yellowstone Elk after Wolf Reintroduction Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Travis Wyman, Joel Ruprecht, Lacy M. Smith, Michel T. Kohl and Douglas W. Smith Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	184
BOX 14.1 Wolves and Elk in the Madison Headwaters Robert A. Garrott, P. J. White, Claire Gower, Matthew S. Becker, Shana Drimal, Ken L. Hamlin and Fred G. R. Watson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	189
BOX 14.2 Ecology of Fear Daniel R. Stahler and Daniel R. MacNulty Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	196
Guest Essay: The Value of Yellowstone’s Wolves? The Power of Choice Michael K. Phillips Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	200
PART 5 Ecosystem Effects and Species Interactions
15 Indirect Effects of Carnivore Restoration on Vegetation Rolf O. Peterson, Robert L. Beschta, David J. Cooper, N. Thompson Hobbs, Danielle Bilyeu Johnston, Eric J. Larsen, Kristin N. Marshall, Luke E. Painter, William J. Ripple, Joshua R. Rose, Douglas W. Smith and Evan C. Wolf Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	205
BOX 15.1 Long-Term Trends in Beaver, Moose, and Willow Status in the Southern Portion of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Daniel B. Tyers Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	211
16 Competition and Coexistence among Yellowstone’s Meat Eaters Daniel R. Stahler, Christopher C. Wilmers, Aimee Tallian, Colby B. Anton, Matthew C. Metz, Toni K. Ruth, Douglas W. Smith, Kerry A. Gunther and Daniel R. MacNulty Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	223
Guest Essay: Old Dogs Taught Old Lessons Paul C. Paquet Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	242
PART 6 Conservation, Management, and the Human Experience
17 Wolves and Humans in Yellowstone Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, Rick McIntyre, Erin E. Stahler and Kira A. Cassidy Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	247
18 The Wolf Watchers Nathan Varley, Rick McIntyre and James Halfpenny Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	257
BOX 18.1 Bob Landis’s Yellowstone Wolves Documentaries Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	258
BOX 18.2 Seeing Wolves Robert Hayes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	261
19 Conservation and Management A Way Forward Douglas W. Smith, P. J. White, Daniel R. Stahler, Rebecca J. Watters, Kira A. Cassidy, Adrian Wydeven, Jim Hammill and David E. Hallac Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	265
Guest Essay: Making Better Sense of Wolves Susan G. Clark Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	277
Afterword Rebecca J. Watters, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler and Daniel R. MacNulty Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	281
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	285
Appendix: Species Names Used in the Text Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	287
Literature Cited Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	289
Contributors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	321
Name Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	327
Subject Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	331

Yellowstone Wolves

Science and Discovery in the World's First National Park

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