Science & technology | Ecology

Pack power

The wolves of Yellowstone provide some surprising survival lessons

Don’t let the grey hair fool you
|4 min read

LIKE people, wolves have found that there are benefits to be had living in a group. Together they can more effectively take down large prey, raise families and defend their territory. The received wisdom is that there are also costs to group living, not least a greater risk of death from catching a contagious disease. Now a team of ecologists working in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming have found evidence that for wolves, at least, that is not always the case.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Pack power”

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