Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/03/2019 - 10:49
1º PREMIO ARTÍCULO YRE (11-14 AÑOS)
The Boar and the Wolf: a problem and a solution
To solve the recent problem of overpopulation of the boar in Spain introducing the Wolf in the Spanish ecosystem will reduce the number of this wild pigs in a natural form
Lately, if you read the press a little bit you'll see that every day the number of boars is growing considerably. They are in parks, urbanizations, roads, dumpsters, etc...This happens because there are almost no Iberian wolves, which are their main predator and as in towns and villages there are garbage and other foods, these wild pigs prefer to go there and get easy food.
A short time ago about 40,000 boars invaded Madrid half of them carried diseases such as tuberculosis. In addition, its presence in cities has increased traffic accidents caused by boar by 33% and its annual growth has increased to between 5% and 15%. Of course, this overpopulation is a problem for people: as wild boars are usually quite aggressive (especially if they go with offspring) and can attack people, as much as for boars: which are hunted massively by humans.
Experts have been trying to solve this issue and one of the possible solutions was to take wolf pheromones for their territories so that they do not approach more to the cities and towns , however that only drives more this animals to approach cities.
However, a solution could be the reintroduction of the Iberian wolf, as it is the main predator of the wild boar and reduce the number of these wild pigs in a natural way, without damaging the environment and with a total effectiveness, not counting that it would help Preserving the wolf and helping the ecosystem of Spain.
This would not be the first time that the wolf, after being reintroduced helps to lower the number of animals and balances the ecosystem of the place, take as an example what happened in Yellowstone National Park. Before the wolf was reintroduced in the park there was a overpopulation of moose and deer as the wolf was one of its predators and there was no more. They fed on the berry bushes eaten by the bears and the number of these carnivores began to descend. Food began to be scarce for the other animals; The birds migrated, the mice and snakes hide, their numbers decreased and the deer and moose began to erode the rivers. The only dominant predators were the little coyotes. Everything continued to worsen...Until the wolf was reintroduced. These began to throw the moose and deer from the places where they used to be and some species returned as bears and mice and with them, returned the birds, like eagles. As if it were not enough, the Wolves deserode (desrosionaron) the rivers and so to speak they redirected their channel balancing the ecosystem of the park. If wolves balanced the ecosystem and ended up with overpopulation, why not let them do it again?
AUTOR: Guillermo Maldonado Arribas
COLEGIO LAUDE FONTENEBRO (MORALZARZAL - MADRID)