2 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2023–2025score 2.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN cites it as a compelling example of unforeseen ecosystem effects and rewilding.
A short narrated video describing how reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone triggered a trophic cascade that changed wildlife, vegetation and even river courses. This is a remastered HD version of George Monbiot's viral piece.
“probably one of the most fascinating videos on YouTube” (HN, 2023)
[this video] "Embark on a journey to Yellowstone, where a few wolves did not just roam, but rewrote the rules of an entire ecosystem. Discover how these majestic predators triggered a cascade of life, transforming not only the park's wildlife but its very rivers and landscapes. It's a story of how nature's architects can reshape our world in ways we never imagined."
Wolves triggered a cascade transforming Yellowstone's wildlife and rivers.
> Why would the years of life on earth (or evolution) matter for species alive today being of "ecological importance" or not? It matters because we're not that smart . A species deemed "inessential" to ecological importance might very well turn out to be critical for unforeseen, even unforeseeable reasons. Not just to the species itself, which you seem to discount despite their ancient pedigree, but even to us through second order effects. The amount of time a species has been around is a strong clue that they're fulfilling a role in the ecosystem. Nature doesn't really do 'superfluous'; everything connects. Not in a hippy dippy way, but in the realest way, and in ways beyond our comprehension. The classic examples when I was growing up of 'nature being wasteful' - the appendix and 'junk DNA' - have now been revised... Because we learned more. No one knew how wolves change rivers [0] until it was studied. In hindsight it's obvious and makes perfect sense, but we didn't deem wolves "essential" when we killed them all. 0 - [this video]
Example of unforeseen ecosystem effects of species.
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![Frame from How Wolves Change Rivers [REMASTERED HD] - George Monbiot](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W88Sact1kws/hq2.jpg)
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