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Re-introduction of Wolves In regards to the possible re-introduction of wolves into the upper-part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, I believe that they should be returned to one of their natural habitats. In the early days of Michigan, wolves inhabited the entire state, both upper and lower peninsulas. But by 1960, the wolf was placed on the endangered species list, and soon thereafter the last wolf was shot in Lower Michigan. These helpless creatures did nothing wrong to the human population, but, sadly, became extinct because of human disturbances, not natural causes. Therefore, I strongly believe that they should be re-introduced to their natural environment. The basis of my information and evidence was derived from the introduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park. Before the wolves were re-introduced, there was an imbalance in the ecosystem. The plants and animals of the park had no control or keystone predator to keep balance of the various species. They were allowed to do as they wanted, regardless of how it affected the other species of the environment. The elk were very abundant, and became the dominant species of the ecosystem, similar to the concept of deer in Michigan. This was primarily due to the lack of a keystone predator, such as the wolf, to control the elk. The elks’ only competition was for food and resources. This came from the deer, bison, and migratory bird populations, all of which decreased, because of the competitive exclusion (or the fighting between two or more species for food or resources, resulting in one winning species). The coyote, like the elk also didn’t have a keystone predator so they too, were overpopulating and overeating their resources. This is all shown by the following graph.  After the wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone, biodiversity greatly increased. There was a control over the elk and deer, therefore it increased the other plant and animal populations because there was less elk and deer to feed on them or to compete with.
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