A study of deer-vehicle collisions in Wisconsin found that, on average, wolf introduction reduced deer-vehicle collisions by 24% in counties, and that the economic benefit from collision reduction was 63 times greater than the verified economic harm of wolf predation of livestock; the study further found that collision reduction was attributable to changes in deer behavior to a greater extent than to changes in deer population, suggesting that hunters cannot replicate all of predators' effects on prey populations.
Article #20-23251: "Wolves make roadways safer, generating large economic returns to predator conservation," by Jennifer L. Raynor, Corbett A. Grainger, and Dominic P. Parker.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Jennifer L. Raynor, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT; tel: 860-316-4473; email: jlraynor@wesleyan.edu ; Dominic P. Parker, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; email: dominic.parker@wisc.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences