The wolves of Yellowstone | 60 Minutes Archive
"That's magnificent," said Bill Whitaker as he watched wild wolves in Yellowstone National Park in 2018. Wolves were eradicated in the American West until the endangered species was reintroduced in the 1990s, and their return led both to controversy and to unforeseen and positive impacts.
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I feel like hunting a wolf would be like hunting my dog lol. Can't hunt something I can't eat.
Unless it starts hunting what you eat
I was in yellowstone for the introduction, then 4 years later worked in the park... amazing to see them thrive
Wrong
@@bagelthug are you saying wolves are the bagels of the animal kingdom? Because I agree 100%
Destroyed our elk herds all over and we'll never forgive you
@@coyotedust that’s awesome the elk herds belong to you, I didn’t know that was a thing
@@coyotedust Not true. Wolves and elk coexisted for thousands of years before settlement and the wolves didn't destroy the elk herds. Habitat loss, disease and over hunting are what is causing elk numbers to decline.
I visited Yellowstone not long after the reintroduction. It felt different just because wolves were there, even if you never see one. Just like the grizzly bears. It's hard to explain.
Not only did wolves reestablish the integrity of the food chain, but the wolves made the sound of Yellowstone come back.
Wolves are so beautiful and majestic.
And make great garments
@@1970BBB noo don’t hurt the poor puppies :(
Wolves are in Washington state too.
Wolves are my absolute favorite animal!! They are so beautiful and special
Great! Maybe they should live in your backyard
@@fm4695 that would be fine with me
I grew up in Bozeman and the Yellowstone area, eight years university biological sciences at MSU. I saw a large wolf plain as day on the west edge of the part in 1968. I damn well know a wolf when I see one. The government authorities insist that was not possible, there were zero wolves there then. I know exactly what I saw in 1968. I saw a large wolf on the west edge of the park, so there were wolves there.
Wish more people would read and understand the research of keystone species!
Wish people would stop listening to fair tales 🙄 and damning the animals
Wish fewer people would pretend to be a biologist on youtube.
I don’t have to read. I’ve done my own boots on the ground research just outside the park for 40 yrs before and after reintro. Wildlife balances are way out of whack in some ranges in the same ecosystem. Troubling when FWP told the wolves have damn near wiped out the moose population in the area I’ve studied. It got so back that the feds have had to fly it and mitigate the multiple wolf packs 2 or 3 times in the past 5 yrs. Love the wolf, but also love their prey and just want balance. It’s different in the park because of the 1000s of bison you don’t have outside the park. Think that’s the big difference in balance difference
Their leading cause of death is not from other wolves, that was the case when they were introduced and protected by ESA. Now the leading cause of death for adult Yellowstone wolves is being hunted and trapped outside the park, and it’s not even close.
True.
Amazing clever animals
Such ad awesome success story!
Incredible!!!
I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where there are at least 600 wolves according to the Michigan DNR. However, the UP is a large place and obviously has many more. I see tracks daily year round. I see actual wolves 3-4 times per week. What I don't see is small game such as rabbits, squirrels and grouse. There is also less deer. There is definitely less mature deer and few bucks with large antlers. There needs to be balance. Currently there is not.
Anecdotal evidence does not supersede peer reviewed research.
@@EthanDurant That's odd. Actual scientists use anecdotal evidence in volume to help understand local situations.
In 2022, Michigan hunters harvested 339,189 deer. Wolves are definitely not a problem for deer.
@@superdaveinca9254Unfortunately, wolves like easy meals. So, all those fenced in hamburgers-on-hooves are easy targets.
Same in Northern Wisconsin no deer are small animals left something need to be done with the wolf problem
I have always Loved wolves ❤ They are beautiful ❤
Mai’stoh!!! (Wolf) in Diné (Navajo) Navajo Nation love wolves!
Wolves in Michigan now, happen to see one on our property in the Manistee National Forest. Just pure luck, walking in the kitchen and saw one walking thru the woods.
It was shopping for lunch-pets
@@fm4695 I mean bears, mountain lion, and Coyotes do the same thing
Interesting and informative. Thank you. Wolves are awesome!
Until you have to share your property with them.. there not that awesome when they eat your Boston Terrier...
@@kyle2441 Dude yer killing me!!!! Ruff ruff....yelp
@@kyle2441 Yeah. Listening to it scream for help as it's intestines are consumed first would be as heart wrenching as when these invasive Canadian Gray Wolves wolves do that to your cow and you must choose between no food, shooting wolves and going to prison. That's the issue. The law preventing you from defending your animals. But if you have video footage and a couple months to spare, you might be one of the few allowed depredation permits and become nocturnal.
New Mexico has an amazing wolf refuge that you can camp in. Thank you R.R. Martin.
Where did all the elk go?hmmmmmmm.
Would love to go yhere one day. We'll see. Beautiful animals
Stay away
Wolves are Amazing. 🦊❤😘
I love these wolves.
Really? How do you cook them?
Great show
Good, Thx
Thanks. Love ❤️ wolves
Love every single animal. But wolves are the ones i really love. Just can't help myself.
Awesome
Wolves Forever.
You never know when seeing a wolf who's gonna show up. Good guy or bad guy. Just look on there eye's. There just great.
Well, I would say, we don’t love wolves for something real, like the narrator, said but I would say we love wild animals, and the Apex of the species that was wiped out in our country was a tragedy in the fact that they’re back make them all the more special.
awwwwww, cute puppies ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Can’t believe that 60 minutes did not bring up the fact that when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone that after a while the water levels rose making the ecosystem better overall!
Wolves and Orcas are my two favorite animals in the world
Little red ridding hood was the demise of the wolf😮I watched a wolf elk hunting one year from about 100 yds for about 10 minutes. It was awesome to see one in the wild for the first time
We live in an artificial world…
A very majestic and misunderstood animal❤❤
Lovely.....
Wolves are a protected species in Yellowstone National Park Region. 🐺. Love ❤. Shared 💜 Saved on KZhead ❤️
Oops, wrong, Yellowstone has a hunting season for these animals.
It's natural. Plain and simple.
Such a cool story!
A whole hundred years? 🎉
Wolves are the best 🔥🔥🔥
9:09 when reality hits the fairy tale
The wolves are dope... 💥💥💥
here puppy... go pet them lol
Wolves have nearly eradicated deer up here in Minnesota.
sure dude. The population of deer in Minnesota is still very healthy
wolves actually play an essential part of the ecosystem, they keep populations of deer, moose, elk, etc otherwise these animals overgraze and destroy the underbrush of forests. I cannot understate how important wolves truly are and how destroyed the ecosystem has become in areas that historically had wolves but no longer do :)
Deer eradicated in Minnesota? Complete poppycock. Deer are numerous and the state is vast.
@@xeonpaiEssential as in essentially wiping out local populations of deer and elk. So many myths running out there (like what you wrote) are just talking points completely detached from reality.
@@paulring86 Everything I said is scientifically proven to be true, I'm sorry but you have no idea what you're talking about. Do more research before you espouse such stupidity.
IVE SPENT HALF MY LIFE DOCUMENTING THESE WOLVES ❤❤
Protect our nature and animals🌎🙏🏻✨💚
There has to be a balance in the wild and when there not we pay the price
Paying the price? Luxury or inconvenience of not being able to hunt?
Long live OR7!
I support the wolves is awesome that they've been doing so great keep protecting them
I was blown away when I saw people that I have worked with in this video!
I thought the whole "alpha wolf" thing had been debunked and even retracted by the guy who originally published it?
ORCA ways as well in The Silent World thank you kindly 60 Minutes because your show series paid in full Paramount plus debate not romantic because of evolving links between the human race and #animals on land or in the ocean. smib. #Amen. 🐬
Glad they're back and doing well. We were stupid to remove them.
The way it used to be , roaming buffalo ,wolves and indigenous peoples living with land !
Randy Newberg was criminally cut short and taken out of context by this -piece. I would expect nothing less from the liberal lens of CBS.
CBS won’t be around much longer … thank god
Before I even watch this video I'm guessing when they removed the wolves that deer and elk started over populating and starving to death. God knew what he was doing when he created the world. Leave it to man to think he knows more than God. Smh
Not to real natives. Wolves represent family.
Love wolves, hate hunters - it's not a fair fight.
I hate people who say they are hunters, but abuse the animals that they hunt.
well even if the wolf doesn't eat the elk the fear of being eaten would stop deer and elk and everyone from over eating in open areas... but i couldn't say whether thats good or bad its just life right?...
When the deer and elk don’t have any more natural predators, they overpopulate, they aren’t as healthy, and they destroy the landscape, the environment, the rivers, the park, truly amazing.
@@kareyrose yeah I mean that’s the common answer but I’m saying it’s sad and interesting that fear is also a huge factor in the strategy, and while the claims are that deer do this, yes they doooo buuuut humans have ruined the environment by destroying migration paths and escape routes sooo it would be an unfair advantage for the wolves who are not only being reintroduced which means the native animals are too naive to avoid them… but also when they do catch the news that the wolfs are back and town they’ll have no where to run… leaving overgrowth… and it’s funny how we listen to industrial cattle farmers but don’t talk to any hippy anarchists 🤷♀️. Farmers are the bad guys, homesteaders are good, and they deal with predators but industrial farms that deal with major loses because of overpopulated cattle herds and poultry houses have no right talking… the mission is far from finished but the wolves are are a great warrior of the eagle chief and life will go on 🍎🌎✌️
@@HenrySeagull thanks for the laugh.
for the backstory, read Shadow Mountain, by Renee Askins
Restoring the lost balance to nature is so important to the survival of the Earth and our enjoyment of it. Cattle are not indigenous to the area, if the ranchers want them there, either they have to figure out how to keep their livestock safe while tolerating the presence of the wolf, or they suffer losses, or move thier cattle. it's pretty simple, really.
I think what you're meaning to say is that cattle aren't an aboriginal specie's in north America, at least. You could say they are indigenous, and definitely native. What would be the key difference,them not migrating themselves, but being shipped here?
@@YousirArdume If an animal was shipped here by human it is not aboriginal, indigenous or native. Cattle were shipped here by Europeans back in the day making them an invasive species. I am not sure where you are getting your information or definitions from but they are verifiably wrong.
@@EthanDurant It would help you to look up the definition of invasive species. You are using the wrong label for cattle.
@@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists "Unlike native grazers like elk, cattle didn't evolve here. They're an invasive species - and the harm they'd been inflicting was clear in overgrazed range, mucked-up pastures, manure-polluted waterways and trampled vegetation" - Center for Biological Diversity "An invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area." - National Geographic You are a fool if you think cattle do not harm the environment. The run off from farms pollutes waterways. The methane gas from manure damages the ozone. I could go on and on.
@@EthanDurant you know nothing of ecology. It is clear in the first laughable reference you made. Start with a topic called regenerative agriculture. That will at least get you to a very base level. Then come back here and try to lecture a biologist. By the way, I doubt NatGeo made that very bad attempt at trying to define invasive. They are biased, but not that badly.
When he says the West, well there's still the lobos od new mexico and Texas. It's the Mexican Gray wolf, although there aren't many left.
Nice to is that the wolves
My favorite animal
I'm a veteran too! How do you cook yours?
This more about people looking at wolves than wolves ! Show us the wolves !
It was about the reintroduction of the wolves to the park and all its implications.
3rd Brigade 1st Cav Greywolves
The wolves are a lot more attractive and suited to their environment than the humans lining up to gawk at them, or ranchers who insist their profit is more important than the balance of nature.
and i bet you use something that is made from beef and beef byproducts. Smh
30 years on we can see it was a mojority plus. Of course no one knew for sure back then. That's what these tests are for. It could have gone completely the other direction, but how would we know without running a test.
♥️
This is very interesting, and it's nice to see humans helping to bring something back that we initially were trying to destroy.
What ranchers always seem to never bring up is that they are compensated for injury or death of their livestock if attacked by wolves. Plus the fact they blame dead an animals on wolf attacks even though the animal died some other way and get compensated for those too. Wolves are also in more states then mentions, Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Arizona, around the great lakes area and even in North Carolina.
Not always. What happens when the cattle or sheep just get get carried off
@@jimtheobald1141 I guess in rare cases that might happen. But with the "fake" cases they are over compensated and it will make up for that. Of course the big factor is the 35 million of tourist dollars that the wolves brought and almost all of that is during the winter when it's is much slower.
Incorrect. Ranchers are not ALWAYS compensated.
@@thePrisoner1000 Nope...the often do not get compensated.
@@marge3157 I didn't say they always get compensated, but the fact they don't seem to talk about the fact that they do get compensated.
Decimating again
I thought the government reimbursed ranchers for their lost lifestock?
Yep…that bull looked really weak 🙄 Going to get to the point where they will need to hire guides to find elk.
boohoo
Tale my money! I want to go Wolf watching 😍😍
SSS
The rancher how has the farm 100 miles away he had riders and Guardian digs and he has no loss of cattle or sheep. So way arent every farmer doing this is these wolves on your land
Yellowstone was not "alive" until the wolves were brought back.
Gish they look so much like my huskies though they say there’s no relation.
Funny too mine are pack dogs and cannot live alone.
Before wolves the park had wildlife. Now not so mutch. The great Gardner Montana migration was amazing . It no longer exists.
Wolves are wildlife, though.
"It is already a proven fact that, where wolves in have been reintroduced, the population of every big game species from mule deer to elk and moose has been reduced. Idaho had what was probably the highest elk population in America per square miles of habitat. But wolves were introduced, and their population flourished. At the same time the elk herds diminished. If you go to that state today it is difficult to see any elk herds, but wolf howls can be heard at just about any hour of the day or night. Yellowstone National Park is another excellent example of wolf mismanagement. The Park brought in a total of 31 wolves in an attempt to manage both bison and elk. The “buffalo” immediately reverted to an ancient defensive tactic of circular defense, and fended off the wolves for the most part. Only those buffalo that strayed from the herd (most often done by birthing cows) were in real jeopardy. Calf numbers fell as did cows, but the herd did not suffer too great a loss. Elk populations did not fare as well. The overall population began a downward spiral. That situation increased in its downward trend as the wolf population increased. Today, many visitors to the park are disappointed as they look for elk in the spacious meadows and see very few. The primary remaining herds are high in the mountains during the summer months and rarely visible to those tourists that cannot climb up to see them." For the record.
That's called "natural balance". When the predators eat their prey, their prey numbers decrease. When the prey numbers decrease, so does the number of predators, which then gives they population of prey animals a chance to increase again. With this increase of prey animals, the population of predators then also increases.
@@hyenaboy7504 EVERY national park in America has hardly ANY animals to see while there. Yellowstone was the ONLY national park where you could see all kinds of big game while there. Do you understand you've RUINED the best national park in America? Do you even care?
@@LavishPatchKid balanced ecosystems aren’t ruined.
@@hyenaboy7504 National Parks are attractions, that cost money to upkeep. You've ruined what made it an attraction. Within 10 years, Yellowstone will have less visitors than Yosemite. You've ended the park.
@@LavishPatchKid national parks exist as a way to preserve nature.
Only 35 million reason why wolves in america will stay imagine that
How is anyone surprised a predator would thrive in their habitat? But what’s the real impact on there prey ?
The impact has been positive. The animals they hunt and eat are the ones that are overgrazing and overpopulated. That makes the area out of balance. Diseases thrive, and animals starve to death when the wolf is gone. It seems paradoxical, but it isn't. It's the opposite. Ignorance and fear of them lead to them being eradicated and that was a shame.
@@jenniferloftus2363they weren’t even the same species of wolf that was native to the area.. talk about ignorance
@@marcspencer800just like the colonizers aren’t native to the area, so what?
@@marcspencer800like that makes a functional difference.... oh wait - it doesn't.
@@jenniferloftus2363 well coming from Idaho and being involved in cattle I assure you that they are a problem.. see them eat a calf out of a cow multiple times.. that’s why we don’t give them a chance to do it.. if we see them they are getting Shot 100% of the time
I get a wolf tag every time I can. That was not the wolf that was native. There’s thousands of them everywhere now. Elk and deer numbers are plummeting. The balance is out of control and they are extremely hard to manage populations.
I'm no wolf hugger but I know that no predator species can be "out of control". Their numbers march in lockstep with available prey, with some very slight variation The deer elk numbers are declining from wasting deer disease and all the people moving into Idaho Wyoming Montana area
@@willbass2869 I am pro-wolf and I am pro-conservation...we need balance. I have witnessed wolves in the wild they are incredible. The wolf was exterminated completely as well as the grizzly in lots of states because of the lack of big game on the landscape over 100 years ago and attacks on livestock grazing. In Lewis and Clarks writings, they talk about the lack of game in the ID and MT areas. The goal for the project was a reintroduction...but you can't reintroduce something that was extinct. So they brought in a Canadian gray wolf. That wolf hunts in packs and is about 50% larger to what was native. They wanted 15 breeding pairs total in WY. Fair enough. At this point, they are well over 100 breeding pairs from that introduction across the west. After that, they need to be managed as the undulate population as dropped off. I have been camping, fishing, etc. in Wy, ID and Mt for over 40 years. The game in not on the landscape like it was. The way the wolf was managed 100 years ago was with poison. It is extremely hard to have a balanced population of wolves and big game. What happens is the wolf numbers explode as they have and are (there are 3 packs in CA now) so they eventually wipe out the game and then they die off of starvation and disease. Most wolf packs sport hunt just eating the guys. Then the game comes back and explodes and we end up in this cycle of 25-35 years vs we could have balance the entire time. The bigger issue now is the biologists are not making the calls. The wolf that was just added to CO, was on a ballet. That is ridiculous. And it was dropped in a cordor that will not work. Those wolves have already moved out of that area. Wy, Id, and Mt all talk about the issues they have with the abundance of wolves on the landscape. It's an "out of control" issue. We need balance if not it is not fair to the wolf or the big game. And we have made incredible growth the last 75 years with conservation of big game in the USA.
@@yo2stix your decline in elk deer has little to do with wolves. Urbanization & large scale factory farming have bigger impact on food, shelter and migratory routes of prey species
@@willbass2869 Wolves live in the mountains not neighborhoods. There has been a direct correlation in the decline of ungulates with the Canadian wolf transplant. Look into. Its widespread knowledge.
@@willbass2869 You are no biologist either, but here you are pretending to be one on youtube.
Hi Doug👋🏼
Start bringing back the prey. Balance the ecosystem.
Ranchers killed all the wolves, not because of people's fears of wolves based on "The Big Bad Wolf" but because they weren't willing to let the wolves have a tiny bit of their herds. Greed killed all the wolves just like greed killed all the buffalo. Your premise that it had something to do with a fairy tale is outrageous, wrong, and not real journalism.
Not greed, survival! I'm guessing your grocery store is only minutes away.
Wolves take only a very small percentage of a herd and the rest of their diet from other wildlife. But ranchers aren't willing to share any of the flock they're raising for humans to eat. So the wolves have to die. Greed is killing the wolves.@@TheScmtnrider
WOLVES ARE BEAUTIFUL PLEASE DO NOT HARM THEM!!
I agree. As long as they stay away from my livestock. I won't harm them but my livestock guardian dogs might have a different perspective.
Government should pay for the livestock that are killed by wolves
You are so right!!!!! There are agreements which state that very thing. However, those who experience loss must prove the wolves were the real cause and not some disease or other fatal experience. To make matters worse, the livestock remains may not be located in time to establish/perform a necropsy and so the Agencies are able to decline reimbursement.
@@fm4695It would definitely appeal to both sides, just need the ranchers to be honest. Wolves must continue to thrive
They have been treated like the real Americans, the Native Americans. We shpuld leave them alone. They are a vital part of natures cycle.
Love Montana
Montanas actually a beautiful state I was pleasantly surprised.
Wolves were here first, it’s up to us to accommodate *them* and preserve their existence. Develop better methods of livestock protection. These beautiful creatures have just as much right to live in their natural home as we do.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
I heard a canine expert say one time that a difference between wolves and dogs was that a dog would look to a human for help if it needed it and a wolf wouldn't. I think this shows how dogs think of their human caretaker as the leader of their pack. Something the "dog whisperer" Cesar Milan was basing his perception of the dog/human relationship.
Wolf tourism isn't even the stupidest thing I've seen today😒
There are many strategies these Ranchers can use to mitigate and address the chances of a wolf attacking their livestock. Why do some choose not to do so. We share this planet and all its habitats with Animals. Their argument is weak and self-serving. 🐺
Honestly why would anybody worry about a wolf least problem on earth
Unless it's threatening your livlihood.
@@karnaagmaybe you need to give the land back to natives and relocate, like the Europeans made the natives relocate
That wouldn't make any sense at all. That rancher owns the land. Who cares who used to have it. We all live on conquered land.@@kmack998
I didn't need to know their careers & home towns to respect & be interested in their story. For someone who might be opposed to reintroducing wolves, saying these people are in law enforcement might be enough to sway judgement.