Dear editor:
Readers beware of bias and ignorance, it’s everywhere.
The January 12th article regarding the unannounced introduction of Yellowstone wolves to Wyoming officials unfortunately incorporated alarmingly slanted or seriously misinformed views from a supposed expert about wolf and elk population dynamics in Yellowstone.
As a retired wildlife biologist, I have all too often observed personal bias influencing fellow biologists’ actions.
Separating personal bias from professional responsibilities is an ongoing challenge for all scientists.
The remarks from today’s story about the Yellowstone wolves made by Dan Stahler, the senior wildlife biologist with the Yellowstone Wolf, Cougar, and Elk Program are of particular concern.
"Stahler doubts the idea that there are fewer elk in Yellowstone because the wolves killed too many.
Wolves typically don’t go after 'prime age' cow elk for the same reason they won’t go after healthy adult bison, he said – the risk of getting injured or killed is too high.
In August 2024, an apparently inexperienced young wolf in Yellowstone barely escaped getting stomped to death by a cow elk when it attempted a solo hunt.
However, many prime-age cow elk were shot by hunters during late-season hunts near Gardiner, Montana, north of the park, Stahler said. Those hunts, which ended in 2009, likely diminished Yellowstone’s elk population, he said. "
The statements above indicate that Stahler doesn’t believe that wolves have had any part in reducing the elk population in Yellowstone.
His assertion that it is because they don’t typically prey on “prime age” elk is a laughable argument.
Anyone with the most remedial understanding of population dynamics knows how important recruitment of young to maturity is in maintaining a population.
When a large percentage of calves are killed year-after-year before they are allowed to reach maturity and reproduce, their population will, without a doubt, reduce even without a single mature elk being touched by a wolf.
It is well documented everywhere that wolves and elk coexist that calves are a primary target of wolves, even more so than old and infirm individuals as they typically make up a smaller percentage of the population.
Stahler further asserts that the likely reason for the currently reduced elk population in Yellowstone is the late season hunts near Gardner which ended in 2009.
This ridiculous claim begs the obvious question: if the hunting was the reason for the elk population decline and not the wolves, then why hasn’t the elk population rebounded in the 16 years since the hunts were stopped?
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone undisputedly has contributed to the elk population decline. Whether that is good or bad is a matter of perspective, but anyone involved with wolf and elk management should base their comments and decisions on facts and well supported unbiased theories.
Bret Forrester
Cheney, Washington
