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Maria Kiefer
Mindi Vogel
Intermediate Comp.
1 October 2014
Wolves and Their Environment
Throughout human history, wolves have been portrayed negatively. In stories they are
antagonists. A wolf eats Red Riding Hoods grandmother, they assist the White Witch in the
Chronicles of Narnia, and are friends of Vampires in many tales. Our fear of wolves was once so
great that we even burned them at stake. With new knowledge, we no longer fear wolves like we
used to. We have actually found them beneficial. Now empowered by scientific research
findings, we know that wolves have a positive effect on the ecosystem that they live in.
Wolves control the ungulate (hoofed animal) population. They primarily eat animals like
caribou, moose, and/or deer and therefore prevent the effects of overcrowding. If an area has too
many of a certain species, it will not only affect that species, but all of the animals and plants that
call that place home. There will be less water, food, space, and a lower survival percentage.
Diseases will spread at a faster rate because of more hosts, and the population of the entire
ecosystem will lower drastically. If there are no wolves, ecosystems will be damaged.
Wolves help the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Ungulates and other animals eat plants
preventing them from reaching maturity. This especially affects trees and bushes that have a
longer growing period. Wolves lower the herbivore population allowing more plants to grow. A

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great example of this population management can be seen in Yellowstone. Before any wolves
were introduced there were few trees. When wolves were brought to Yellowstone the tree
population went up. If you were to go there now, you would notice that there are very few old
trees which signifies that not many trees were able to survive before wolves entered the
ecosystem. The increase of plants in the ecosystem means more food which means a population
increase in all animals that live there. If there were no wolves, there would be a smaller
biodiversity.
Wolves also prevent the spread of disease. They tend to leave healthy prey alone and
instead attack prey that is sick or injured. This prevents other animals from catching the same
disease that the prey had. Wolves also eat carrion (decaying flesh of a dead animal) and this gets
rid of diseases that are spread by rotting meat. If there were no wolves, then there would be more
sick animals.
We have treated wolves like evil animals in our literature, movies, and even in our daily
lives; now with our newfound knowledge, we have realized that wolves are not as demonic as we
thought they are. Even though we pay little attention to wolves in our daily lives, it has been
proven that wolves control the ungulate population, help the biodiversity of wildlife, and prevent
the spread of disease. Overall, wolves have a positive effect on the ecosystem that they live in.