What happened next was revelatory. The park’s rodent population, long depressed by years of unchecked predation by ever-present coyotes, rebounded immediately. This meant a sudden increase in the food supply for raptors like owls and hawks. Healthier birds began having larger broods, and Yellowstone’s bird-watching community began seeing an avian renaissance, something they never realized they were missing.
“What happened next was revelatory. The park’s rodent population, long depressed by years of unchecked predation by ever-present coyotes, rebounded immediately. This meant a sudden increase in the food supply for raptors like owls and hawks. Healthier birds began having larger broods, and Yellowstone’s bird-watching community began seeing an avian renaissance, something they never realized they were missing.”
