ORIGAMI WOLFORIGAMI WOLF
Indiana Dunes is missing members of its wildlife community. Bison, elk, lynx, bobcat, mountain lion, bear, and wolves disappeared when their habitat was disrupted and hunting increased. Read this background information about efforts by rangers at Yellowstone to restore their wildlife community. Learn why this cannot be done at Indiana Dunes. Fold an origami wolf to help remind the students about the missing community members.
| A pack if Yellowstone wolves silently move through the snow as they stalk
an elk. Together they burst into a run and attack. On a bluff above, a park researcher
watches the wolves first cripple, then kill the elk. After gorging themselves, the wolves
wander into the nearby trees to rest. Catching the scent of the dead elk, a coyote comes up for a meal. Seeing the coyote, the wolves spring to their feet and give chase. Later the researcher hears the howls from the wolves, which announces the killing of the coyote. How things have changed. In 1920's, the government hunted and trapped all the wolves living in Yellowstone National Park. At that time, wolves were perceived as an unnecessary member of the wildlife community. For 75 years, without the competition from wolves, coyotes increased in numbers and created large packs. In 1995, the National Park Service brought wolves from Canada to Yellowstone. The wolves, not willing to tolerate coyotes, have rapidly changed the wildlife community. With the return of the wolf, Yellowstone is one community that has all its original members. Researchers are seeing many changes they did not expect. The coyotes hunted many small mammals and bird. Since wolves eat larger prey, scientist expect an increase in the small animal populations. Visitors will have even a better chance to view Yellowstone wildlife. Indiana Dunes has a wildlife community that has lost its large predators and mammals. Visitors will not see bison, elk, lynx, bobcat, mountain lion, bear, and wolves. With only 16,000 acres, Indiana Dunes is too small a habitat for these animals, so you will never get a chance to watch them here. Some animals have increased after the predators at the dunes disappeared. Now there are too many raccoons, opossums and deer. The affect of the high-density deer herds is evident throughout the park as road kills increase and plants in the forest are eaten. To be in balance a natural community needs all its members. To make sure more members are not lost, rangers work hard to protect endangered species from disappearing. |
Questions for discussion:
Without predators, the raccoon population can get too high. What effect does this over-population have? Raccoon eat bird eggs and chicks, small mammals, and aquatic animals. Killed by cars on the highway, their bodies attract scavengers that might be killed also. Looking for garbage, they become dependent on humans for food.
How does an over-population of deer
cause stress on the community? When hiking through Indiana Dunes notice how much of the
understory is browsed by deer. This affects birds that hide their nests on the forest
floor under bushes. Without cover these birds are rarely successful at raising young.
Could things like Lyme disease arrive here on ticks carried by the deer? Road kills are a
hazard. Many species of plants that deer like to eat are getting rare, and those that deer
find undesirable are overpopulating.
Fold a square piece of paper into a wolf to help remind the students of the missing members of the Indiana Dunes wildlife community.
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