This, in turn, gave the closest wolf pack a chance for dinner. When they were finished dining, the ravens and eagles came to get their fill. A raven cannot eat unless one of the carnivores has already pierced the flesh of the animal. The raven's beak is not designed to tear through the rough hide of an elk or bison. While the wolves are distracted, the coyotes are free to roam the nearby plains in search of grouse or mice or other such rodents which bury underground in winter. Everyone is fed, everyone is taken care of, and the cycles of Nature are preserved.
We have learned this semester of Biodiversity. Biodiversity is the food web, or food chain. The producers are at the bottom, creating the food for the elk or bison. They, in turn, are food for the wolves, bears and coyotes. When these carnivores die, their decaying carcasses seep back into the earth, the bacteria breaking down to start the process all over again. But what happens when this balance is interrupted by man? In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth, all the wolves in Yellowstone were wiped out of existence - every last one. Almost immediately, the elk populations and bison herds grew to enormous numbers. The coyotes and bears could not keep up. In Nature, there is a fine balance between life and death. Rick Bass mentions this in "The Book Of Yaak" when he talks of the forests in the Yaak valley. The older trees die, falling to the forest floor and begin to decay. This provides homes for some rodents, as well as bacteria needed for nutrients by the living trees around it. These trees, in turn, grow up to be strong, tall, and healthy trees who grow old, die and fall to the forest floor. Because the wolves were removed from the Yellowstone ecosystem, the entire balance and process was upset. According to wildlife biologist Doug Smith - who works in Yellowstone directly with the wolves - once these natural predators were re-introduced, the balance was restored.
