The Yellowstone Elk Mystery: The Real Threat Behind the Herd's Collapse (Documentary, 2015)

Yellowstone National Park is home to tens of thousands of elk; some stay within the park boundaries throughout the year while others form large herds to leave the high plateau with the onset of winter. And one of these herds is in severe trouble: Once containing over 19.000 animals its numbers have plummeted by 80 percent in the last decade. The mysterious decline of the population sparks many theories and voices grow louder, claiming the blood of the putative culprit. This documentary follows four researchers in their endeavor to solve this puzzle and piece together a more complete picture of a complex ecosystem. The story unfolds for the audience like that of a thriller, when our scientists collect clues about elk and wolf behavior in the field. And as the evidence piles up and when the clues pointing at the grizzly become more and more concrete, another totally unexpected player surfaces. ------- Chapters ▷ 00:00 - Introduction ▷ 01:22 - Inside the Elk Collapse - Tracking a Vanishing Herd ▷ 02:54 - The Investigation Begins - Collars, Blood Tests, Clues ▷ 04:20 - Wolves Return to Yellowstone - The Suspect Everyone Blames ▷ 06:42 - Elk Numbers Crash - Is the Wolf Guilty? ▷ 09:34 - Spring Migration - The Elk Move Into Danger ▷ 12:56 - Baby Boom in the Park - And a New Threat Emerges ▷ 14:11 - Wolves, Bears, Coyotes - Predators on the Hunt ▷ 18:32 - The Missing Calves - A Summer of Vanishing Young ▷ 19:55 - Prime Suspect: The Grizzly Bear ▷ 22:58 - Inside the Grizzly Diet - DNA, Hair Traps, and Clues ▷ 28:32 - 266 Foods Later - What Are Bears Really Eating? ▷ 31:13 - A Missing Meal - Whitebark Pine Collapse ▷ 34:20 - The Turning Point - Cutthroat Trout Disappear ▷ 39:26 - Ecological Disaster - Lake Trout Invasion ▷ 43:06 - Battle for the Lake - Gillnets, Tagging, and a Race Against Time ▷ 47:19 - Hunting the Invaders - Spawning Grounds Revealed ▷ 49:02 - Shocking the Fry - The Last Line of Defense ▷ 50:12 - Elk Numbers Rise Again - Hope Returns to Yellowstone ▷ 51:13 - The Real Culprit - Humans and the Cost of Interference ▷ 51:30 - Credits #documentary #animals #wildlife #nature #yellowstone #elk #wolves #ecosystem #animalbehavior #animalplanet ------- Subscribe to wocomoWILDLIFE: https://goo.gl/L5puvQ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wocomo ------- Original title: Mystery in Yellowstone A film by Manfred Corrine & Claudia Zenkert © 2015, Licensed by Albatross ------- Videos about animals, aquatic life and nature: wocomoWILDLIFE offers high-quality entertainment. The films on our channel are produced by leading production companies. Check out our other channels to watch high quality documentaries: ▷ wocomoHUMANITY: https://www.youtube.com/@wocomoHUMANITY ▷ wocomoDOCS: https://www.youtube.com/@wocomodocs ▷ wocomoHISTORY: https://www.youtube.com/@wocomoHISTORY ▷ wocomoTRAVEL: https://www.youtube.com/@wocomoTRAVEL ▷ wocomoCOOK: https://www.youtube.com/@wocomocook WocomoWILDLIFE is part of the Wocomo channel network by NIKITA VENTURES. Wocomo - wonderful content in motion.