The Predator-Prey Balance: Why Romance Won’t Replace Science Colorado’s wildlife faces a perfect storm: apex predators reintroduced without adaptive management plans, 5.9 million people fragmenting critical habitat corridors, and shrinking winter range for elk, deer, and moose. The math is simple—predators need prey, and our ungulates are squeezed from all sides. Wolf reintroduction. Growing mountain lion populations. Increasing bear numbers. Each predator plays a role, but without science-based