Wolves are one of the most studied species in the world.
Beginning in the late 1950s they weren't,
and because of the problems that are associated
living with wolves,
a lot of studies were kicked off in the 50s and 60s,
and now they're one of the most studied
animals on the planet.
And so it's hard to advance your knowledge
in that kind of arena.
But Yellowstone has.
There was a book published in 2003
which was a review of all the science done
on wolves up to that point,
and in the introduction of that book
the author said, "We've tried to include
"as much knowledge as Yellowstone has learned
"in the first few years, but Yellowstone
"holds the most promise to unlocking
"some of the wolves secrets that are so far unknown."
And I think Yellowstone has done that,
and that's because, and this is somewhat controversial,
we've had a good radio collaring record.
So we're able to follow individuals in packs.
The park is big, but it's more accessible,
than say northern Canada or Alaska.
And about half our population is viewed daily from the road.
And this is an odd feature of recovery
that I didn't think would occur.
I thought wolves would be more secretive and shy,
but we're getting information about pack dynamics,
about individuals, about predation,
about interactions with other species, on a daily basis.
And there's no other study in the world that's doing that.
And then we do the traditional things.
Radio tracking, airplanes, genetics, drawing blood,
looking at disease exposure, that all the other studies do.
So you combine the traditional scientific methods
with citizen science and daily observation
and a public that loves to come here and see wild nature.
And again, I can't over-emphasize how important
wolf recovery has been just to public enjoyment.
Yellowstone is the best place in the world
to view wolves, and people come here to do it.
And that's immeasurably important
to the park's goals and policies.
That people see intact nature.
So yeah, Yellowstone has changed the world's view of wolves.
And we're in the news all the time.
And I think having positive news out there about wolves,
because to be honest, there is a lot of negative,
because they're hard to live with,
but having Yellowstone there,
providing this positive, good news,
has been very important, and not only for Yellowstone,
but what we know about wolves
and the image of wolves worldwide.