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Description
"What They Have Done For Us"

My tribute to National Wolf Awareness Week.
Wolf week is from October 16 to the 22.
Also see "How We Have Hurt Them": [link]
And "Lobo and Blanca": [link]

This shows how much wolves help us and the ecosystem.

When the wolves were reintroduced back into Yellowstone in 1995, they replenished the dying ecosystem.

Elk were overpopulated. They grazed on small tree saplings, flowers, and other plants.
When the wolves were gone the elk ate, and ate, and not many new trees were growing because they were eating all the saplings. Less trees meant a dwindling beaver population. Beavers need trees to build their homes.
And less willow trees for songbirds to nest in.
And less trees also meant little shade for fish.
Many fish died.
The elk ate away at flowers too, meaning less flowers for hummingbirds, and so on.

The wolves fixed all of this dramatically.

Wolves also keep the elks genes healthy by typically
hunting the weak animals out of the herds.
They do the same for bison too.

Many other animals feed off wolf kills too.
Ravens, coyotes, even eagles.
Bears often feed on kills made by wolves. And grizzly bear numbers in particular have gotten low in the past few years, so wolves are very good for the grizzly bears, keeping them fed.

When the wolves were gone the coyote population went up dramatically. They began forming large packs, and hunt together, trying to fill in the niche.
But coyote's are small, so they heavily began hunting fawns and calf's.

The pronghorn antelope suffered great number losses because the coyote's were eating all their young.
But they are doing well now that the wolves are back.

Also it is assumed that wolves keep mountain lions up in
the mountains. This means mountain lions will have less conflict with people.

Many years ago, a wolf wandered into primitive mans camp, and was eventually tamed. They hunted with us and protected us, and gave us love and loyalty.
They became the domestic dog.

Lets face it, "mans best friend" is but a domesticated wolf.
And look at what dogs do for us.

Search and rescue.
Police.
Military.
Service for the disabled.

And so much more.

We owe wolves more than many people know.

And they are in trouble again.

Wolves are the first animal to have been taken off the endangered species list. And there is a responsibility that comes with that.
We need not abuse the Endangered Species Act by
having an animals numbers go back down right after being taken off the list.
What happens to the wolves now will effect how we handle all other animals on the Endangered Species List in the future. We need to protect them.

That is what i want to share for National Wolf Awareness Week.

Also please, please, watch this video: [link]
It is what inspired me to draw this project.
12x18 paper. 3 nights. Approx 20+ hours.

"each of our native wild creatures is in itself a precious heritage that we have no right to destroy or put beyond the reach of our children." ~Ernest Thomson Senton

Please check out these links to learn more:

These links show how they have helped us:
[link]
[link]

Whats happening to them now:
[link]
[link]
[link]

This is how people are trying to help:
[link]
[link]

Description
"What They Have Done For Us"

My tribute to National Wolf Awareness Week.
Wolf week is from October 16 to the 22.
Also see "How We Have Hurt Them": [link]
And "Lobo and Blanca": [link]

This shows how much wolves help us and the ecosystem.

When the wolves were reintroduced back into Yellowstone in 1995, they replenished the dying ecosystem.

Elk were overpopulated. They grazed on small tree saplings, flowers, and other plants.
When the wolves were gone the elk ate, and ate, and not many new trees were growing because they were eating all the saplings. Less trees meant a dwindling beaver population. Beavers need trees to build their homes.
And less willow trees for songbirds to nest in.
And less trees also meant little shade for fish.
Many fish died.
The elk ate away at flowers too, meaning less flowers for hummingbirds, and so on.

The wolves fixed all of this dramatically.

Wolves also keep the elks genes healthy by typically
hunting the weak animals out of the herds.
They do the same for bison too.

Many other animals feed off wolf kills too.
Ravens, coyotes, even eagles.
Bears often feed on kills made by wolves. And grizzly bear numbers in particular have gotten low in the past few years, so wolves are very good for the grizzly bears, keeping them fed.

When the wolves were gone the coyote population went up dramatically. They began forming large packs, and hunt together, trying to fill in the niche.
But coyote's are small, so they heavily began hunting fawns and calf's.

The pronghorn antelope suffered great number losses because the coyote's were eating all their young.
But they are doing well now that the wolves are back.

Also it is assumed that wolves keep mountain lions up in
the mountains. This means mountain lions will have less conflict with people.

Many years ago, a wolf wandered into primitive mans camp, and was eventually tamed. They hunted with us and protected us, and gave us love and loyalty.
They became the domestic dog.

Lets face it, "mans best friend" is but a domesticated wolf.
And look at what dogs do for us.

Search and rescue.
Police.
Military.
Service for the disabled.

And so much more.

We owe wolves more than many people know.

And they are in trouble again.

Wolves are the first animal to have been taken off the endangered species list. And there is a responsibility that comes with that.
We need not abuse the Endangered Species Act by
having an animals numbers go back down right after being taken off the list.
What happens to the wolves now will effect how we handle all other animals on the Endangered Species List in the future. We need to protect them.

That is what i want to share for National Wolf Awareness Week.

Also please, please, watch this video: [link]
It is what inspired me to draw this project.
12x18 paper. 3 nights. Approx 20+ hours.

"each of our native wild creatures is in itself a precious heritage that we have no right to destroy or put beyond the reach of our children." ~Ernest Thomson Senton

Please check out these links to learn more:

These links show how they have helped us:
[link]
[link]

Whats happening to them now:
[link]
[link]
[link]

This is how people are trying to help:
[link]
[link]