Wolves could hold the key to preventing ‘zombie’ disease threatening US deer populations – Telegraph.co.uk

A project by researchers from Penn State University, the US Geological Survey and the National Park Service, now hopes to support the idea that the predators can be used to effectively manage the disease.

"Yellowstone is the only place in the US that we can see if this is working,'' explained Dr Ellen Brandell, who is leading the project, because of the overlap between high elk and wolf populations and CWD cases nearby.

The park is home to 10 wolf packs and Dr Brandell believes the predators may be able to target and kill sick deer before the illness is detected by humans.

"They are quite unsuccessful at hunting so they'll take the weakest ones - that's exactly the type of cue you want a predator to pick up on," she said.

Dr Brandell said researchers were sampling the carcasses of deer and elk which have been killed by wolves to detect CWD.

The preliminary research suggests that the absence of CWD cases in the park may be evidence that their theory is correct.

Some conservationists have suggested that more research would support the argument for the reintroduction of more wolves to some parts of the US, although the idea is fiercely opposed by farmers and ranchers.

Dr Brandell said shehopes her study will show that having predators on the landscape can be useful for managing the disease.

"Wolves are a top predator in the ecosystem, they help balance everything that comes before them in the food population," she said.

"They help keep populations smaller and healthier, so they have a cascade effect on everything."

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Wolves could hold the key to preventing 'zombie' disease threatening US deer populations - Telegraph.co.uk

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