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 gray 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 pack 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 in 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 pot 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
ELQ 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 from wolves but
wolves are hardly the only hunters of
elk calves in fact this angry mother has
already lost her newborn to a grizzly
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 Lemoore Valley to spreading our
team observed to elk calves killed by
wolves – 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
it it goes back away the narrow entry
way for the big chamber at the end it
might go at least 16 feet an entrance
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 gray 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 pack 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 in 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 pot 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
ELQ 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 from wolves but
wolves are hardly the only hunters of
elk calves in fact this angry mother has
already lost her newborn to a grizzly
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 Lemoore Valley to spreading our
team observed to elk calves killed by
wolves – 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
it it goes back away the narrow entry
way for the big chamber at the end it
might go at least 16 feet an entrance
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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