What happens when the wolves returned to Yellowstone?
When wolves were brought back to the park, they not only killed elk, but also changed their prey's behavior patterns. The herbivores started to avoid areas like valleys and gorges where they could be easily hunted by predators.
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For the next several decades, elk cycled through population booms and collapses along with climate fluctuations; hard winters left the ground littered with hundreds of the carcasses of elk that had starved to death. Then, between 1995 and 1997, wildlife officials reintroduced 41 wolves to Yellowstone.
In late December 2005, the alpha female of the Nez Perce pack was killed by the Gibbon Meadows pack and the surviving Nez Perce pack members split up and dispersed. Six packs (54 wolves, down 36% from 2004) used the northern range, and seven packs (64 wolves, down 26%) used the rest of the park.