And what do you think the introduction of the large, pack-hunting, non-native wolf into Yellowstone was, other than "an attempt to manage"?
Since the advent of the Canadian wolf the Northern Yellowstone elk herd has been knocked down from nearly 20,000 elk to under 3,000, with the possibility of a complete collapse very possible, inasmuch as the wolves kill mostly the calves and cows first.
This has been a management process I wish every smug, self-important wolf advocate had been forced to watch in person.
Of course in recent years they have slaughtered great numbers of the bulls too by herding them into deep snow and running/bleeding them to death. Again, this is the kind of handiwork that a certain very special brand of predator/nature lover really ought to watch up close.
A herd of 20,000 rapidly approaching elimination. The rancher-hating, hunter-hating, human-hating enviromental left see this as great progress.
Obviously you do too.
Do you seriously believe wolves are not native to the Yellowstone ecosystem? They were reintroduced.
I’m no expert on the subject, but possibly somewhere around 3000 is the “natural” population of this herd, with normal predation. It is possible this number will rebound, as the elk adapt to the presence of wolves and become harder to find and kill. Eventually a balance is reached. The number of wolves in the park is already down by more than 50% from their peak.
I’m agnostic on whether this is progress or not. I do know it is “natural” for wolves to kill elk. You may prefer non-natural alternatives, and I might agree with you.
“Natural” isn’t always something we view as good. There is nothing more natural than dysentery bacteria killing people. But that we don’t like the results doesn’t make them any less natural.