Since the day wolves were allowed to
reclaim their niche and re-establish the balance in the Yellowstone
ecosystem, some of the questions on the minds of biologists and casual
observers alike have been, “How will they get along with the park’s
grizzly bears? Will wolves and grizzlies avoid one another?
Will they fight? If so, who would win
and who would back down from such a contest?” After years of visiting
Yellowstone to photograph wildlife, I finally saw some of the answers to
those questions played out during several encounters in May of 2004.
The first of these was in the Hayden
Valley. Typical of most wolf or grizzly sightings in Yellowstone, without
powerful optics, the distant animals appeared only as moving dots on the
horizon. But through binoculars it was apparent that a wolf dot was
clearly chasing a young but determined grizzly dot, presumably away from
the remains of a kill made by the local wolf pack.
Next, a larger grizzly showed up and
also chased the young bear before moving in to claim the wolves’ food.
Reluctant to challenge this older grizzly, yet not wanting to give in too
easily, the wolf made a show of chasing the beleaguered younger bear
further away for good measure.
It seems that while grizzlies are
learning that wolves can provide an important source of spring carrion,
wolves are learning which bears they can successfully challenge and which
of them will not budge.
A few weeks later, another
intra-species encounter happened during the kind of cold and drenching
storm that made it hard to want to leave the warm, dry car--but this time
the animals were within camera range. The night before, the Druid pack had
brought down an elk in Soda Butte Creek. After their night of feasting,
only two of the wolf pack’s m
embers remained to guard the kill.
Impervious to the downpour of rain and wet snow, they were lying out in an
open meadow when a five year old grizzly moved in to take possession of
the carcass. Stuffed and lethargic, the alpha male arose and with little
enthusiasm, sauntered over to challenge the bear....