yellowstone animal tracks in snow Predator & Prey. Yellowstone National Park

lamar river and animal tracks Tracks In The Snow. Lamar River, Yellowstone

yellowstone winter Mouse & Raptor. Yellowstone

yellowstone winter Soda Butte Tributary & Tracks. Yellowstone

Wolf Tracks. These particular tracks belong to a member of the Mollies. My friend Jeff Hull and I watched this particular wolf cross the road the night before and we went back to check out the tracks the next morning. Yellowstone

yellowstone wolf tracks Two sets of wolf tracks.

yellowstone wolf A super high iso image of a Mollie crossing the road. My friend Jeff and I watched many of the 19 Mollies cross the road to find 3 or so of their other members. The Mollies are generally bison hunters and have apparently left their home turf, the Pelican Valley, due to a low snow pack and tough hunting conditions. The Mollies are on average 15 pounds heavier than other wolves in Yellowstone. At the time I took this image the Lamar pack was only about 5 miles to the east and the Blacktail and Agate packs 2 to 5 miles to the west.

lamar wolf pack yellowstone Many of the 11 member Lamar pack in their home turf, the Lamar Valley, Yellowstone. This is an 11 member pack. Not long after I took this image I watched a helicopter come roaring into the Lamar Valley with a side door open and a gunner standing on the outside rail. It was the Park Service and they darted two of the Lamar members. They also apparently on the same day darted two Mollies out of my sight. If the darted wolves were not already collared, collars were put on them and additionally blood and tissue samples were taken.

yellowstone bison Bison & Wolf Tracks. Slough Creek

At the time I took this image a lone wolf, presumably a male, came within a hundred yards of the Mollies and called and called to the Mollies. The Mollies occassionally called back, and my intrepretation of the mollies' calls was, get the hell out of here. It's mating season and this wolf was likely looking for a mate. I am sure by now something played out and I will likely never know if this wolf was killed by the Mollies or if it was able to successfully mate with a female and then sneak off.

slough creek bison yellowstone Bison & Slough Creek

North Hills & Moon. Lamar Valley.

rick mcintyre Rick McIntyre, pictured above is and has been a Biological Technician for the Yellowstone Wolf Project essentially since its inception with the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone in 1995. There's no doubt he's the wolf guru in the park. His knowledge based on years of experience observing--it is said that he spent over 3,500 consecutive days watching Yellowstone wolves--is unsurpassed. While his voice is quiet with a slow cadence, he candidly answers questions from tens of thousands of visitors each year. Imagine the patience needed to answer questions from that many people. In the image above, Rick is watching the Lamar Canyon pack on the west side of the Lamar Valley. 11 wolves in all. At the time of this image, 3 Lamar Canyon pups were pseudo-stalking 3 large bull elk while the adult wolves sat in the background and watched. I asked Rick why he thought the large bull elk didn't run and he said he believes the larger and healthier bulls stand their ground and the adult wolves know and respect that. "The pups may try to make a go at the bulls but the odds are low they will try and if they do they will not likely succeed."