The restoration of wolves into Yellowstone and their rapid increase changed the debate from concerns about “too many” elk to speculation about “too few” elk because of wolf predation. Elk are the most abundant ungulate on the northern range and composed more than 89% of documented wolf kills during winters from 1997 to 2008. Also, from 2002 to 2008, elk-calf survival (recruitment) and total number of the northern elk herd declined. Many factors (e.g., other predators, drought, winterkill, hunting) contributed to the low recruitment and decreased elk numbers. These trends cause some people to think wolves are killing off elk, despite the fact that elk continue to populate the northern range at relatively high density compared to other areas.