Wolves are what elk used to be

It doesn’t seem so long ago that folks were all worked up about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. There were worries that the predators would devastate the elk herds, then move out of the park and begin preying on cattle. Outfitters and ranchers were up in arms.

While elk numbers in the park fell drastically following the reintroduction, cattle survived relatively unscathed. And we were told the wolves weren’t actually killing all the elk, but simply redistributing them. Whatever it was that happened to the elk, their numbers in Yellowstone remain a fraction of what th...