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In reply to the discussion: Grizzly bear kills guide just outside Yellowstone National Park [View all]Straw Man
(6,613 posts)I will grant that the human species is far too "successful" for its own good or for the health of the planet. I think what you're overlooking is that ecosystems are don't achieve some ideal stasis and then freeze there; they're constantly changing as species evolve and become extinct.
From the point of view of human settlement, taking large predators out of the equation certainly has been beneficial, at least in the short term. It's good to be the apex predator, and it sucks to be the prey.
We can't reduce the size of our cities until we reduce the population -- that's a given. But even at a lower level of population density, coexistence with large predators is problematic. You can't send Junior out to walk the dog if there's a chance that neither one of them will return. That has always been the struggle.