Protection from harvesting restores the natural social structure of eastern wolf packs

Authors: Linda Y. Rutledge, Brent R. Patterson, Kenneth J. Mills, Karen M. Loveless, Dennis L. Murray and Bradley N. White

From Biological Conservation

“Legal and illegal killing of animals near park borders can significantly increase the threat of extirpation for populations living within ecological reserves, especially for wide-ranging large carnivores that regularly travel into unprotected areas.[...] We combined ecological and genetic data to show that reducing anthropogenic causes of mortality can restore the natural social structure of kin-based groups despite the absence of a marked change in density ”

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