The Controversy Over Wolves

So this is an editorial I wrote for school. It's the first draft so a tad rough around the edges.

The controversy over whether or not wolves are a threat or an endangered species seem to rattle in the balance these days. We have both extremists and everything in between. Yet what are the facts that field researchers and biologists are coming up with? After much research I have come to realize that, like any other animal, wolves do best when left alone. We should not worry over the elks existence and daily habits because they do not kill many elk, they build up these herds rather, and they help sustain plant life.

The accusations against wolves often are linked with the diminishing population of elk. People claim they are the reason for the elk changing their migration patterns, for obtaining more diseases, and even for dying of starvation. According to researcher Arthur Middleton, that is not the case. "[Elk] on average, encounter wolves once every 9 days,” He states, “Elk did move slightly more when wolves were within 1 kilometer, but not by much. They only traveled an extra 30 meters per hour.” That is not frequent enough to affect even their body fat, which is yet another misconception about wolves. These canines travel up to 500 miles. They do not stalk a herd of elk beyond a single meal.

What about when they do? What about when they prey on elk and chase them down to feed on them? One point, which is almost never mentioned, is the fact that when these canines do prey on elk they do not go for the strongest. They kill the weakest, the young ones, or the old and injured. "Wolves help insure that the healthiest elk thrive and reproduce,” says one professor at Carroll College. Jonathan Matthews spends his time studying and researching on this topic, and has brought to the table much knowledge that otherwise would be left unsaid. “Generations of elk have suffered functional decline during the decades that wolves have been missing from Montana."  This clearly states the need for a population of wolves in an area. What a landscaper might do to a garden, pruning the trees and weeding, the wolves do to the herds. They encourage the top elk to rear up strong generations, while cutting out the weaker animals.

Another point Jonathan states is the fact that wolves help maintain healthy vegetation. Indeed, this might sound a little odd. To the average, unlearned American, it would seem wolves only kill and destroy. This is not the case.  "With elk no longer able to graze lazily in the river bottoms, they are no longer eating willow and cottonwood sprouts, so the unnaturally bare banks are greening,... [the wolves] are creating habitats that support insects, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals." And this is not all. There have been countless situations where elk, bored and endlessly wandering, have found themselves to ranchers’ fields and their crops. Wolves help by keeping them on the move, thus giving vegetation a chance to survive and thrive. Without wolves, this couldn't happen.

Will all this evidence, it becomes clear that wolves truly are not a threat. Indeed, they do hunt elk. Indeed, they can be aggressive. But what shall we then say? Shall we accuse these animals of trying to survive? Shall we accuse them for hunting to feed their young ones? Shall we accuse them of first degree murder? As we have seen, they benefit the herds and surrounding wildlife in numerous ways. Without these wild canines, the animal kingdom would fall apart. So why not stand back and watch nature take care of itself? It has for thousands of years.