Yellowstone Wolf Hunt

Yellowstone Wolf Hunt · Posted by *palmor*, 08-31-2009, 07:43 PM

Hi all,
These aren't the greatest photos as wildlife photos go (heavy crops as well as very far away) but I thought I'd share because it isn't every day you get to see wild wolves hunt (and it is kind of an interesting story to boot).

One night we were watching for wolves/bears on one of the lookouts in Hayden Valley when we spotted these two wolves approaching a herd of Elk. Eventually the wolves got a little to close and in one large group the Elk actually chased the wolves off into the woods. The kind of ironic thing is that in the woods were the wolves were chased happened to be a family of Elk... a few minutes after the wolves disappeared they came running out of the woods chasing the family and eventually catching on calf.

So first is a shot of the wolves chasing a couple of Elk, the Elk ran back to the herd:

Then the herd turned around and chased the wolves (I was dumb and didn't get a wide shot of with the wolves in it)

Now the chase out of the woods:

and the capture:

Like I said, not the best pure photos but a very exciting thing to watch and one I bet a lot of people never see.

Thanks
John

*Mallee Boy* · 08-31-2009, 08:03 PM

Great captures Palmor.
Nature at work.
Thanks for sharing.
Grant

stevebrot · 08-31-2009, 08:07 PM

Wow! Exciting to say the least! Witnessing a predator in the wild making a kill is a fairly rare thing.

Steve

lodi781 · 08-31-2009, 08:22 PM

great pics....I love yellowstone..such a beautiful park...

**Marc Langille** · 08-31-2009, 08:36 PM

John, this is the essence of nature and the park captured in it's purest form. Thank you for posting these!

Regards,
Marc

*pcarfan* · 09-01-2009, 06:17 AM

Love these images...what a capture...very well done. Thanks for sharing.

JMR · 09-01-2009, 11:01 AM

Excellent! Cropped or not.

JMR

*Ash* · 09-01-2009, 11:21 AM

Well done.
Mystical park. Great captures.

*Scottnorwo* · 09-01-2009, 08:08 PM

what a sight to see. thanks for sharing

flippedgazelle · 09-01-2009, 08:21 PM

Very cool, and the narrative is much appreciated.

Great stuff!

*Heinrich Lohmann* · 09-01-2009, 08:36 PM

That is a wonderful series John and must have been quite an experience to see. Thank you for posting them.

*monochrome* · 09-01-2009, 08:42 PM

Very neat series. Frankly, I thnk the Elk herd shot is perfect just the way it is, without the wolves. The scale is magnificent - Elk are LARGE animals and they are dwarfed by the landscape. The fringe of trees with what appears to be the bark rubbed off the bottom brings the background to life - this is no zoo, its the real deal.

*7.62lew* · 09-02-2009, 11:26 PM

Too cool. That must have been really something to see, once in a lifetime.

Thanks for sharing.

7.62lew

*palmor* · 09-03-2009, 07:59 PM

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the replies. It really was a sight to see

John