I only read the abstract but I wonder if this was accounted for in the article. Sure, it’s plausible that wolves lead to fewer deer-vehicle collisions, and that is a economic benefit. But what is the cost of decreasing humans’ willingness to enter the woods?
I'm not saying no one is afraid of going outdoors because of the wolves, but that fear would be completely irrational. Your chances of twisting your ankle badly enough that you get caught out and die of exposure are many orders of magnitude greater.
Edit to add: as an additional anecdote, we get a ton of tourists coming here to head outdoors because of their interest in the wolves and hopes of seeing one.
Significant dog bites affect tens of millions of people globally each year. It is estimated that 2% of the U.S. population, 4.5–4.7 million people, are bitten by dogs each year. Most bites occur in children. Between 2005 and 2018 approximately 471 people were killed by dog bites in the United States, averaging 37 deaths per year.
- A black bear suddenly charge toward me around a blind bend, stopping maybe 15-20 feet away, staring for a while before it took off down the side of the mountain
- A moose walk calmly by me, not much more than an arm’s length away
Both were absolutely terrifying experiences. Objectively, the bear encounter was probably the more dangerous (it was clearly startled so potentially unpredictable), but both the proximity and the casualness of the moose’s approach scared me much more.
Wolves are really shy around humans so I don’t think there is any real threat to humans or our pets (as long as we keep our pets close to us). There is only the perception of threat but humans tend to adopt, and I don’t think this perception would last longer then a year or two and soon enough outdoor activities would resume to previous levels.
Less really expensive wildfires.