Beautiful watercolor illustrations bring the national park at Yellowstone and all its inhabitants to life in this fascinating look at the reintroduction of wolves to the ecosystem of the park. The text explains how the last wolf was shot in 1926 and the impact of the wolves' absence on the elk herds. Then the efforts to bring wolves back are described - with illustrations of the capture, transportation, and release of the new wolves. Scenes show elk grazing, wolves hunting, the return of plants and trees as they are no longer eaten by the enormous number of elk, and other positive outcomes.
This book would be wonderful to include in a unit on food webs, ecosystems, and keystone species. Students can see how the removal of one species affects everything else in the area. How many of them would ever imagine that taking away the wolves would lead to over browsing by the elks, and that loss of vegetation would lead to a change in the course of the rivers themselves? The explanations are easy to follow and the illustrations make everything visually compelling.
Back matter includes details of the original fourteen wolves that began the repopulation of the species in Yellowstone, including which pack they were a part of and how long they survived in the park. There are also profiles of several other animals from around the world that conservation groups have worked to reintroduce and restore the ecosystems they were once a part of.
Planned for release on April 5, this book will be available in time for Earth Day - so mark your calendars. I read a review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley.
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