Anderson Cooper just did a 2 part story on the re-introduced wolves in Yellowstone and the positive effect on the park (planet). Maybe someone needs to educate the President (yet again . . .)
Really sad to watch AC's story one night and see this the next day . . .
Pulled this from the transcripts (7-12,13):
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: I was in Yellowstone Park last weekend. It wasn't exactly a sight-seeing tour. I was there for our "Planet in Peril" series. And while it's taken us all over the world this year, this time, we decided to bring the story back here to America.
The reason are the grey wolves. They're an endangered species. They were nearly driven to extinction in America. But at Yellowstone, something remarkable is happening. I was lucky enough to witness it. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): It's late afternoon in Yellowstone National Park, and the light is fading fast. We're trying to get into position to witness what's widely considered the most successful conservation effort of the past few decades: the reintroduction of grey wolves into the park.
(on camera): There's a bison which died several hundred yards from here along a little river. And at night, the wolves are going to come and feed on it. They were out here last night.
There's a good chance they'll be back tonight. So we're trying to get as close as possible. We don't want to scare the wolves off by getting too close.
DOUG SMITH, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: The pressure builds.
COOPER: So do they always come out at night?
SMITH: Yes, they do. This is about the time they come out. And we estimate about 80 percent of their kills are at night. And so, this is a very good time of day to see them.
COOPER (voice-over): Doug Smith is the wildlife biologist, in charge of the Wolf Reintroduction Project.
SMITH: OK, I got it.
COOPER: After about 20 minutes of waiting, we get our first glance.
SMITH: I had them up in that -- kind of above that rock in the sage brush.
COOPER (on camera): Yes. I think the one I -- I think I did see him back then. Because my tree stump has moved.
SMITH: OK. Good. Good. You're -- you're officially a wolf observer now. Or excuse me, you're officially a wolf watcher now. And is that your first wolf?
COOPER: Yes, that is.
SMITH: OK. Great. COOPER (voice-over): That we're actually seeing wolves here, is something that, for a long time, seemed impossible. The government set out to exterminate wolves across the west the beginning of the 20th century, and along the way, completely eliminated them from the park.
The public perception and biological appreciation began to change in the '80s. Bison and elk populations had exploded, because there was no predator, like the wolf, keeping their numbers down.
And so, in 1995, after a long battle with the nearby ranching community, who were concerned the animals would kill their livestock, Doug Smith transplanted the first wolves back into Yellowstone.
(on camera): What do you think it is about wolves that surprised people, surprised everyone here? Just how adaptive they are?
SMITH: Yes. I think so. How adaptive. How tolerant they've become. How they kind of clicked right back into place without a lot of years. You know, they just fell right back into their old role, even though they had been missing for 70 years.
COOPER (voice-over): And that role, as the local ranchers predicted, does include killing livestock. The environmental group, Defenders of Wildlife, agreed early on to pay ranchers for farm animals lost to wolves and so far, has made over 500 payouts.
There are now more than 150 wolves in the park, with more than two dozen new pups born this spring.
Thousands of tourists flock to the park, hoping to catch a glimpse of the wolves, something that is still special, even for Doug.
(on camera): Does it excite you?
SMITH: Oh, yes. I've been doing this since 1979, and it never gets dull. It's a thrill to see a wolf, every time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It's a remarkable how well those wolves have adapted.
******************************************
(part 2)
Also tonight, death bringing new life to Yellowstone Park. How the reintroduction of gray wolves has rejuvenated the park's ecosystem. A "Planet in Peril" success story, next on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Earlier this week, I was pretty far away from the city life you see behind me. I was out in the woods on the hunt for a killer at Yellowstone National Park, on the lookout for gray wolves as part of our "Planet in Peril" series.
Now the wolves were once near extinction. They're now back at the park and thriving. And while they're killing other animals, they're also bringing new life to the ecosystem. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): When you're watching for wolves in Yellowstone Park, there's a lot of running, hiding and waiting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, copy that.
COOPER: When you finally see them, if you're lucky enough to see them, they're usually eating something. In this case, a bison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the alpha male.
COOPER: The pack will feed on this bison for about 48 hours, and other animals will also enjoy the kill. And that simple fact represents a real change in Yellowstone.
(on camera) The reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone Park began in 1995. A total of 41 wolves were brought back here. Their numbers have increased steadily since then, and they've had a major impact on the ecosystem.
(voice-over) Doug Smith is the leader of the Wolf Restoration Project in Yellowstone. He takes me to the site of another wolf kill.
DOUG SMITH, LEADER, WOLF RESTORATION PROJECT: This kill is one week exactly.
COOPER (on camera): After the wolves are done -- after the wolves kill the elk and they eat a certain percentage of it, and then they leave and other creatures come?
SMITH: Correct. Actually, sometimes simultaneously. The ravens and the magpies arrive instantly. They're right here. Sometimes the wolves at one end, the ravens at the other end.
And then the wolves feed and they can eat up to 20 pounds in one meal. They gorge themselves and typically move off. And then other animals come in. Coyotes, black bears, maybe even a grizzly bear.
COOPER (voice-over): And it's not just the animals. The ripple effect extends to the park's plant life, too.
(on camera) This is a stand of willows.
SMITH: Yes, it is. And this stand has grown up in the last ten years since wolves were reintroduced.
COOPER: So why is it that introducing wolves would have an impact on trees or on bushes?
SMITH: What we think is happening is that wolves pose a risk of predation to elk. And elk eat willows. And so having wolves back on the landscape after being absent for 70 years has changed elk behavior.
COOPER: Because of the wolves now, the elks have less time to graze, and also there are fewer of them. So the willows are growing. What impact do the willows have?
SMITH: Right now, Anderson, I'm sitting, listening to numerous songbirds in this stand of willow. There's a flycatcher there. I've heard a warbler, some sparrows. They're all using this stand of willows, for this type of habitat is very important to some songbirds.
COOPER (voice-over): And the cascade continues. Doug says the reintroduction has increased the beaver population in one part of the park ten times over, and beaver dams create ponds, which support water foul and native trout and so on and so on.
A single species reintroduced. A dramatic effect on Yellowstone's more than two million acres.
Back at the bison kill, with the sun setting, there's a report of a battle between a bear and a wolf.
(on camera) This is exactly what you had hoped for all along with the reintroduction, would be this kind of active natural cycle?
SMITH: Yes, absolutely. Wolves fighting with black bears is natural. And eating bison carcasses is natural. And it restores Yellowstone to what it used to be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Remarkable place.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/acd.html
