This
Month in Yellowstone
New Wolf Pack Observed
 When
Bob Landis noticed wolves on a carcass at Round Prairie on November
11, he saw that there was a pull-off along the road only 200 yards
from the wolves.
Since he knows that wolves do not behave naturally with people that
close, he continued along the road to another pull-off that was about
500 yards from the wolves.
There he found Doug Smith, Yellowstone Wolf Biologist, already observing
the wolves while training a group of winter wolf observers who work
for him. They too knew that the other pull-off was too close to allow
the observation of natural behavior. While watching the wolves, that
fact was born out when they saw the wolves leave when visitors parked
in the closer pull-off. While it is not illegal to be closer, responsible
observers should not approach closer than 500 yards to wolves.
Observing from a distance paid off well for Bob. He has generously
given us permission to use this footage which includes images of wolves
feeding on an elk carcass. You will notice that they are hesitant
to go down the bank to the carcass. That’s because the bank
was very slick with ice. He also filmed a pup chasing ravens and magpies.
In one scene an adult wolf carefully breaks the ice at the bank in
order to get a drink of water.
The pack they were observing is a new pack. Since none of them are
collared we do not know their origin.
Breaking the Ice to Get a Drink - © 2004 Bob Landis
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