Wolf kills were also a major new source of nutrition for the park’s bears and, it turned out, a very timely one. Wolf reintroduction coincided with a steady decline in the production of whitebark pine nuts in the park, a key source of protein for bears. They routinely raided nut caches created by the park’s squirrels in the fall, the season when bears were preparing for hibernation and needed to feed as much as possible. Climate change was considered the most likely cause for the decline, and researchers expected to see less healthy bears and fewer cubs as a result. Yet the bears seemed to
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