Lately, we don't usually stop when all we see are scopes. But, if people are actively shooting with cameras, we do stop.
This trip, we saw lots and lots of Wolf People, who told us about two dens on either side of the road in Lamar Valley near Slough Creek. Apparently there were at least three -- maybe four -- litters of pups and several times females had been seen carrying their tiny babies from den to den, once even crossing Grand Loop Road. But, catching that requires hours of watching and waiting, and we were also seeking Bears.
So, we stopped a few times, but never got a glimpse of pups or an up-close view.
But, we did have three up-closer experiences, one in an unexpected place.
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| Carcasses are always a good place to see predators (and Ravens) |
No, they weren't right in front of our faces; the photos still have a shimmer than comes from a long lens struggling with a still-distant object (it's here where I pine from a prime lens). But, these were our best sightings to date.
Normally, we see Wolves (Gray Wolves to be specific) in the Hayden Valley on the opposite side of the Yellowstone River and in the Lamar Valley at the far side of the valley or near their den high on a distant hill at Slough Creek.
This time, one of our encounters was in Hayden, one in Lamar and one in the wide plain just north of Norris on the west side of the Park.
An Unfortunate Elk
Warning: Graphic content
The first encounter (the on near Norris) was early on our first morning in Yellowstone. We came upon a scene where we had just missed a pack of Wolves taking down a Bull Elk. So, we missed the chase and the attack. We expected, as we pulled out our tripods and set up our cameras (yeah, it was that distant), to see Wolves and a dead Elk. What we saw was two black Wolves (one limping) and a still-living Elk that was too injured to get up, but still very alert.
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| The attack was finished, the Elk wasn't |
We watched as the Wolf attempted to kill it ...
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| For a minute, I thought the Elk would rally |
... and, then, literally gutted it while it was still alive ...
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| The Elk seemed confused as it was being ripped open |
It was pretty brutal, but mitigated by the distance.
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| I think this would have been rough to watch (and hear) closer |
The Wolf, apparently slightly injured in the attack, seemed to decide to wait for the Elk to die on its own before starting to feed and wandered off with a packmate.
Circle of Life and all that.
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| Contemplating next steps; deciding to wait it out |
Another Unfortunate, but Mostly Eaten Elk
The next encounter was in the Hayden Valley. This time it was several tan Wolves -- one a bit closer than the Elk-killers ...
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| The carcass was pretty depleted |
... and one (or maybe two) way up on the distant hillside.
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| See the Wolf on the snow patch? |
They were feeding (along with a flock of Ravens) on an almost depleted Elk carcass.
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| Scott got the killer shot (he got there before us) |
While still far off, this was the closest Wolf I had ever photographed since I got my 600mm lens.
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| Eating a scrap he pulled off the carcass |
And, it was a beauty.
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| The distance makes it look like an oil painting |
We watched until it wandered off up the hill.
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| Contemplating departure |
A Closer Encounter
Our final encounter was just Caty and me. Scott had already returned to Silver Gate to ensure that he made it to the Log Cabin Restaurant before it closed so he could have trout. We agreed to meet him there, but instructed him to not wait. Because, for us, animal sightings always outweigh meals. And, we were seeing lots of Black Bears (more on that to come).
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| We just couldn't leave this one |
After watching some Bears, we decided to head through Lamar to Silver Gate because it was getting late and we would lose light soon. Right after we passed Soda Butte, a movement caught my eye. It was a Wolf running in the opposite direction of our travel in deep sage parallel to the road.
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| This Wolf was collared (and pretty close) |
Fortunately, it was late and the crowds had dissipated, so I was able to maneuver the car so, first, Caty could get a good shot and, then, so we could get ahead of it to get more photos. When I got my first good look, I thought I was seeing a collared Wolf running with a Wolf pup following. But, that didn't make sense; although the follower was much, much smaller than the Wolf, it was too big to be this year's pup. It was, as we soon found out, a Coyote. And it was mad, yipping up a storm.
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| Look at the size difference! Photo: Caty Stevens |
When we stopped, a fellow animal watcher told us that the Wolves had made a kill fairly near a close-by Coyote den and that the Coyotes had been regularly running the Wolves off.
We stopped and walked up a hill to try to get another view (we had lost sight of the Wolf while parking). We spotted it running on the other side of the river.
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| How did it get there? |
I was amazed that it had gotten that far (and lost the trailing Coyote) in such a short time. But, Wolves run fast.
Then, as we were taking photos next to another photographer, we noticed that he had his camera pointed in a different direction. He was tracking the first Wolf as it ran further away in the sage. We had picked up a different Wolf across the river.
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| A second Wolf! |
Looking a photos, this is obvious. The first Wolf was brown; the river Wolf dark gray. But, when you are driving, running and trying to find distant animals, those distinctions can be tricky.
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| Obviously different |
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| Photo: Scott Stevens |
It was a pretty exciting few minutes, but light was fading so, we headed off toward Silver Gate. We made it in time for dinner (Scott was just finishing his).
And, we had a great experience to talk about.
I still hope for closer Wolves. But, these sightings were exciting.
Other Canines
While on the topic of canines, I should mention the other two we commonly see in the Park: Coyotes and Foxes.
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| Allegedly, this Coyote was going in and out of a den |
This trip we didn't see as many Coyotes as we usually do, but we saw a few ...
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| Coyote feeding on a Bison carcass |
... and, we did encounter a beautiful gray/blond/red Red Fox that was running along the road. Scott was driving ahead of us and sped right by.
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| Pretty, but with a crazy expression |
We stopped and watched it cross the road and run into the woods.
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| And, off |
We also encountered some people who were staking a Badger den (yeah, not a canine, but ...) just a few feet from a pullout. There was a large crowd and they said they had just seen it. We waited, but with all the people, it never emerged. We checked later and didn't see it. I suspect it had multiple dens or entrances and it wouldn't often emerge when a crowd was waiting.
So, next, let's talk about a very dramatic Bear experience.
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| Watch out for this guy |
Trip date: May 19-June 2, 2022
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