The Wolf Stuffed Animal and What The Wolf Can’t Be Blamed For
For anyone interested in collecting soft toys, going with a theme makes it easier when choosing which ones to buy. Some of the more popular [themes] include jungle and dinosaur plush, as well as farm and forest plush. With forest stuffed toys, the animal collection can consist of everything from plush moose to plush raccoons and bunnies, to the wolf stuffed animal.
For many years, the wolf was on the endangered species list in the United States thanks to ranchers killing them off so as to protect their livestock from becoming their main source of food. The situation was so dire in fact, that most of the wolf population was decimated. However, over a ten year period, gray wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park, where they now thrive. During the same time as the reintroduction, the elk population in Yellowstone also dropped by more than 40 percent, putting blame on none other than, the newly resurrected wolf.
Analysis of statistical data from the Yellowstone region paints a much different picture regarding the elk’s decline. From 1995 to 2006, it had already been estimated that the elk numbers would be cut in half thanks to conditions of drought and pressure from hunting. In fact, during the time frame in which those conditions were prevalent, the elk population dropped 44 percent – from 17,000 to 9,500.
John Vucetich, who is a research assistant professor in Michigan Tech’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, says “”you don’t need wolves in the picture at all to explain the population drop.”” Vucetich also isn’t surprised that wolves are to blame for the decline, however, he states “”our work shows that the timing of the elk decline is coincidental with wolf reintroduction and that other factors are to blame. Whether or not wolves had been introduced, you’d have seen fewer elk anyway.””
The impacts wolves have (or, in this case, don’t have) on the elk population is one of the most controversial, especially in the West when it comes to restoring the number of wolves living there. The leader of the National Parks Service’s Yellowstone Wolf Project, Douglas W. Smith, says it’s really the first time that concrete analysis of wolves on elk has ever been done. And, as it turns out, for the first 10 years, the elk were declining in numbers anyway giving wolves a pass when it comes to blame. It’s no surprise that this viewpoint is strongly contested, however.
While it’s true that elk are a source of food for wolves, they typically will only prey on weak or vulnerable animals. Elk would have died anyway even if wolves hadn’t killed them. On the other hand, human hunters are more random in their killing so essentially they can have a greater impact on the population if they take down animals that are at their peak reproductively.
Thankfully, wolf stuffed animals can’t be blamed for anything and as a result are in no danger of being threatened like the real thing is. If there was any ‘blame’ to lay in the case of a wolf stuffed animal it would be that they are just so gosh darn lovable, making their owners spend exorbitant amounts of time with them – perhaps when they should be doing something much more productive.