  Gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park (YNP) in 1995. The
population initially flourished, but since 2003 the population has experience
significant reductions due to factors that may include disease-induced
mortality, illegal hunting, park control pro- grams, vehicle induced deaths and
intra-species aggression. Despite facing similar conditions, and interference
competition with the wolves, the coyote population at YNP has persisted. In
this paper we introduce an epidemiological framework that incorporates natural,
human-caused and disease-induced mortality as well as interference competition
between two species of predators. The outcomes generated by this theoretical
framework are used to explore the impact of competition and death-induced
mechanisms on predators coexistence. It is the hope that these results on the
competitive dynamics of carnivores in Yellowstone National Park will provide
park management insights that result in policies that keep the reintroduction
of wolves successful.
