Wolves, Bison, Ranchers, & Environmentalists

Each morning we went on field patrol in Yellowstone National Park to observe wolves and bison in their natural habitat. In the afternoons, we met with ranchers and ecologists to learn about the controversies surrounding these animals. The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park has been an issue of contention for some time. Recently, local ranchers have also become concerned about bison, and have begun to kill or haze bison that migrate from the park's borders. Part of this is due to the fact, that some ranchers worry that these buffalo are infected with Brucellosis, a disease that can make a cow abort its first calf after it is infected; even though some ecologists argue that there has never been a documented case in which the disease spread from a buffalo to a cow. This controversy has resulted in some ranchers arguing that the disease does pose a significant threat to their economic well-being.