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One important and adorably cute species that thrives in clean water is the river otter! Here in East Tennessee, we witnessed the rebirth of an aquatic ecosystem with the return of river otters. There became an abundance of willows allowing beavers to survive the winters and do their important work as dam builders that led to so much more aquatic life and clean waterways. They no longer had time to overgraze which allowed the plants to thrive. Not only did the wolves feed on the elk providing food for scavengers and nourishment to the environment, they more importantly changed the behaviors of the elk.Įlk began to stay on the move in order to prevent being hunted by the wolves. When wolves were reintroduced back into the park in 1995, the biodiversity of the park made a huge comeback. The absence of wolves upset the balance of the natural order. Elk grazed on willows, and beavers needed those willows to survive in the winter. Without the wolves as predators, elk populations grew leading to massive erosion to the park. This can even affect the health of rivers.Ī study took place in 1995 when gray wolves were reintroduced back into Yellowstone National Park after 70 years without wolves. Plant species suffer, which causes animals that use those plants as food or shelter to suffer. When the deer population is allowed to roam freely and graze wherever they like, the overgrazing causes negative effects to the ecosystem. When predators such as red wolves are not present, there becomes an overpopulation of animals such as deer. But you may not realize they give life as well. As predators, wolves are often villianized.
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Red wolves play an important role in the health of the ecosystem. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in reintroducing red wolves back into the wild. Zoo Knoxville not only participates in the Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program, but we also partner with the U.S. At one point there were only 17 red wolves left in the world. The American red wolf is one of the rarest animals on the planet. Written By: Scarlett Rockhold, Communications Manager A Predator’s Role in Balancing the Ecosystem