"Tom Gable spotted the birds while driving to work. He pulled over and saw what they were circling: a rib cage poking out of the fresh dusting of December snow, about 20 yards from the road. Climbing down an embankment, he found more carnage. Tufts of fur scattered like confetti. Trails of blood on the frozen river. And the disemboweled remains of a deer carcass."
"Studies have found that wolves in the Midwest and Canada not only keep deer populations in check, but they also alter deer behavior in ways that help prevent car crashes and save human lives. Discoveries like this are adding new dimensions to our understanding of what we lose when we lose species. Interdisciplinary work linking ecology and economics is revealing hidden ways that species such as frogs, vultures and bats help humanity."
Wolves reduce deer numbers through predation and modify deer movement and habitat use, producing fewer deer along roadways and lower deer-vehicle collision rates. Field observations and studies in the Midwest and Canada link wolf presence to decreased car crashes and saved human lives. Interdisciplinary research combining ecology and economics quantifies additional benefits provided by predators and other species, revealing hidden ecosystem services from animals like frogs, vultures, and bats. Gray wolf populations declined historically from persecution but have recovered in places. Policy changes and reduced protections threaten continued recovery and the persistence of these ecological and societal benefits.
Read at The Washington Post
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