when winter comes to Yellowstone
National Park it does not come gently it
is a time when most animals struggle
simply to survive but it is also a time
when one animal truly comes into its own
the grey wolf in driving snow a pack of
wolves closes in on an elk herd and when
they finally arrive it is a hard one
meal for the packed one that they will
be allowed to enjoy in peace since being
reintroduced back into Yellowstone in
1995 the wolf has both conquered and
competed competed that is with the
reigning king of the park the great
grizzly and at times conquered but as
spring and Yellowstone arrives a mother
grizzly and her cub have emerged from
their winter den only to be greeted by
driving snow and something more ominous
wolves there is no love loss between
Yellowstone’s top predators but a
frantic mother bear is nothing to toy
with she could break a wolf’s back with
a single swipe of the park but she can’t
risk being led more than a few yards
from her cub finally the Wolves lose
interest in bear baiting and the mother
and cub go their own way unharmed while
the Wolves look for easier prey this
scenario is at the heart of one of the
controversies surrounding the
reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone
elk numbers seem to be holding steady
while at the same time fewer calves seem
to be surviving to adulthood local
sportsmen who can legally hunt elk who
stray from the park don’t want
competition for wolves but wolves are
hardly the only hunters of elk calves in
fact this angry mother has already lost
her newborn to her grisly Yellowstone
Park Ranger Doug Smith explains there
may be competition between wolves and
grizzly bears for elk calves but it’s
interesting because one day in a Mon
Valley the spring our team observed two
elk calves killed by world’s two killed
by grizzly bears the calves our fleet
and agile even at this young age but the
deceptively lumbering grizzly can reach
a top speed of 30 miles an hour about
the same speed as her prey the Grizzly
has her own little one to feed so when
the Grizzly wants a wolf pup it knows
exactly where to find them it goes back
aways the narrow entryway for the big
chamber at the end it might go at least
16 feet an insurance that probably
grizzly bear couldn’t get down but a
chamber that was pretty roomy and
comfortable the wolves themselves are
now long gone hanging out at what’s
called a rendezvous site however harm is
never far away as pups and Cubs are
always fair game for in the wild of
Yellowstone competition never stands
alone
National Park it does not come gently it
is a time when most animals struggle
simply to survive but it is also a time
when one animal truly comes into its own
the grey wolf in driving snow a pack of
wolves closes in on an elk herd and when
they finally arrive it is a hard one
meal for the packed one that they will
be allowed to enjoy in peace since being
reintroduced back into Yellowstone in
1995 the wolf has both conquered and
competed competed that is with the
reigning king of the park the great
grizzly and at times conquered but as
spring and Yellowstone arrives a mother
grizzly and her cub have emerged from
their winter den only to be greeted by
driving snow and something more ominous
wolves there is no love loss between
Yellowstone’s top predators but a
frantic mother bear is nothing to toy
with she could break a wolf’s back with
a single swipe of the park but she can’t
risk being led more than a few yards
from her cub finally the Wolves lose
interest in bear baiting and the mother
and cub go their own way unharmed while
the Wolves look for easier prey this
scenario is at the heart of one of the
controversies surrounding the
reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone
elk numbers seem to be holding steady
while at the same time fewer calves seem
to be surviving to adulthood local
sportsmen who can legally hunt elk who
stray from the park don’t want
competition for wolves but wolves are
hardly the only hunters of elk calves in
fact this angry mother has already lost
her newborn to her grisly Yellowstone
Park Ranger Doug Smith explains there
may be competition between wolves and
grizzly bears for elk calves but it’s
interesting because one day in a Mon
Valley the spring our team observed two
elk calves killed by world’s two killed
by grizzly bears the calves our fleet
and agile even at this young age but the
deceptively lumbering grizzly can reach
a top speed of 30 miles an hour about
the same speed as her prey the Grizzly
has her own little one to feed so when
the Grizzly wants a wolf pup it knows
exactly where to find them it goes back
aways the narrow entryway for the big
chamber at the end it might go at least
16 feet an insurance that probably
grizzly bear couldn’t get down but a
chamber that was pretty roomy and
comfortable the wolves themselves are
now long gone hanging out at what’s
called a rendezvous site however harm is
never far away as pups and Cubs are
always fair game for in the wild of
Yellowstone competition never stands
alone
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