Wolves vs. Cougars: New Study Reveals Who Really Dominates Yellowstone скачать в хорошем качестве

Wolves vs. Cougars: New Study Reveals Who Really Dominates Yellowstone

New research shows that encounters between wolves and cougars in Yellowstone National Park are shaped mainly by wolves taking over prey that cougars have already killed. The study also finds that cougars reduce the risk of these encounters by shifting their diet toward smaller animals, which they can consume more quickly and abandon before wolves arrive. The findings come as cougar and wolf ranges increasingly overlap across the western United States. While wolves were observed killing cougars on rare occasions, the researchers found no evidence of cougars killing wolves, underscoring an uneven balance in their interactions.