Science: Vital Role of Predators
Learn about the vital role predators play in ecosystems. Humans have long had a complicated relationship with native wild carnivores, often with attempts to actively eliminate these animals, leaving behind ecosystems in dire need of that natural control mechanism. With the absence of large apex predators, smaller mesopredators, such as bobcats, foxes, and coyotes, have begun to fill that ecological role. And with certain recovered carnivores moving back into their historic ranges, predator management is a highly contentious issue, now more than ever. Finding a way to coexist with these species is essential, not only for human safety and animal welfare but also for habitat and ecosystem health.
