Wolves and Humans-The Comeback and History
Wolves are at the top of the food chain. There aren't any predators that hunt them. However, that's not to say that wolves are invincible. If there weren't any dangers existing in this world, how could they have recently been severely in danger of becoming extinct?
A few decades ago, gray wolves were extremely rare. And even though they've made a miraculous comeback, other wolf species are on the brink of extinction. Diseases, droughts, and famines do have a large effect on the wolves. But, even though these can easily wipe out several wolves, there's something even more perilous than natural causes of death. Humans are probably the number one most dangerous cause of death.. Humans that are frightened or have no knowledge of how to control the predators where they live, especially if they raise livestock. Many farmers have wolves in their area that are often blamed for the death of their livestock.
There's also hunting, or in other words, poaching. Wolves have beautiful fur, and they are often killed to make rugs, coats, or other attire or housewares. Even historic events still have had a huge effect on wolf populations today. About a century ago, wolves were globally hated. This had to do with stories, legends, myths, and folktales about wolves, such as the werewolf and folktales such as Little Red Riding Hood.
Another cause for the hatred of these animals was the fact that wolves were thriving in the area with livestock and game populations decreasing. People who hunted for sport or to feed their family also blamed wolves for the decreasing populations of game in the area, though many other natural causes of death had an effect on the animals as well as the wolves.
Wolves did play a part in causing some game to disappear. However, wolves also help keep game populations from growing too large.
Wolves could have been guilty for some deaths, but there were other causes, such as drought and diseases back in that time that caused many deaths of game and livestock. People in that time just had a very strong hatred for wolves, even if they had no problems with them whatsoever. If the rest of the world hated them, chances are other people would do the same. There were rewards for killing of wolves. Hunters received lots of money for causing the death of a wolf. People would search wolf dens and find mothers with their newly born pups and kill every one of them. The bodies would be laid out in public. Forests were cut down. Traps were set out all around. Many wolves were caught in steel traps. Many died from loss of area to live.
All of this wiped out almost all of the wolves in the world. Once they had thrived almost everywhere in the United States, and after this period of time, they only lived in areas in Michigan and a little bit in other northern states.
However, after the mid-1970s, the gray wolf began making a miraculous comeback, and by 1994, gray wolves were first reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park. (see the First Gray Wolves page to meet the cast.)
Now, wolves are making a comeback in the U.S. They now are living in areas in New Mexico, Arizona, near the border of Canada, and in states in the Northeast. Wolves also live in other areas in the world. Gray wolves live in Russia, Canada, and the northern U.S. Other wolves, such as the Ethiopian wolf, live in areas of Africa.
Though gray wolves are now making an amazing recovery, other wolves are still desperately in need of help.
How You Can Help
You can help save wolves by visiting wildlife preserve websites and purchasing merchandise or donating to them. This money can be used to help preserve the wolves as well as keep the sites up and running. You can also help by asking wolf experts or park rangers for advice on how you can help protect the wolves. You can also help by teaching other people around you, such as friends and family, about the history and importance of wolves.