Braving the Firehole

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Yellowstone is one of the best places in the United States to see wolves in person. A majority of the wolf packs live in the northern range of the park, making it the best place within Yellowstone to see them. During the summer months it is pretty rare to see the wolf packs that live in the interior of the park, but this often (not always) changes in winter.

Playtime

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Watch Dog

Taken by: Lauren Beall

I had my most intense and amazing experience with wolves this past winter season (and I think everyone else who witnessed this would also agree with me). The road heading from Madison to Old Faithful follows the Firehole river a majority of the way. One of the sections of this road is directly by the river, this is where the Wapiti pack took down a bison.On the far side of the river bank the wolf pack had cornered and injured a bison that was separated from the herd. Wolves are great at risk assessment, they know even an injured bison can severely hurt or even kill them. Because of this they spent the whole day avoiding the bison while also trying to weaken it more. Every time the bison would sit back down along the river bank, a few wolves would jump up to get the bison back on its feet. As soon as that happened they would back away. I think their goal was to weaken the bison faster by having it constantly standing back up instead of resting. Eventually the bison grew tired of this and made its way into the Firehole river where it either succumbed to its injuries or hypothermia. The wolves then spent the whole night and most of the next day eating off the carcass.

To be able to witness this literal national geographic moment in real life was pretty crazy. I am a huge animal lover so there were a lot of emotions while watching the events unfold in front of me. This is a moment that we would have never been able to experience in summer as NPS most likely would have blocked off the road or hazed the wolves because of how big the crowds would have been. During my time in Yellowstone I have spent countless hours searching for wolves so that I can have these amazing moments watching them. I do not think I will ever experience anything like this ever again.

Paws on a Log

Taken by: Lauren Beall

White Wolf

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Overseeing the Pack

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Intensity of the Eyes

Taken by: Lauren Beall