How Wolves Change Rivers

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“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

— John Muir

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When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable “trophic cascade” occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains in this movie remix.

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For more on “rewilding”, click here.

Narration from TED: “For more wonder, rewild the world” by George Monbiot (see below)

B-Roll Credits:

Greater Yellowstone Coalition – Wolves

Wolf Mountain

Primodial – Yellowstone

Timelapse: Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone

Howling Wolves – Heulende Wölfe

Fooled by Nature: Beaver Dams

Music Credits:

Unfoldment, Revealment, Evolution, Exposition, Integration, Arson by Chris Zabriskie

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Wolves were once native to the US’ Yellowstone National Park — until hunting wiped them out. But when, in 1995, the wolves began to come back (thanks to an aggressive management program), something interesting happened: the rest of the park began to find a new, more healthful balance. In a bold thought experiment, George Monbiot imagines a wilder world in which humans work to restore the complex, lost natural food chains that once surrounded us.

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