Though it’s winter in Yellowstone National Park, the fight for survival is still running as hot as ever.
There’s likely not an animal that’s better at the long game than the wolf, especially when it comes to wintertime at Yellowstone National Park. The harsh weather can be tougher on some animals more than others, and wolves have found a way to battle through rough winters and still make it through to warmer weather.
That being said, a big meal in the winter can be critical in a wolf’s well-being.
Out in the wild, animals have to keep their head on a swivel. At any moment, a pleasant grazing session could turn into a race of life and death. This group of elk was enjoying their time out in the open of the Lamar Valley when a pack of wolves set the elk in their crosshairs… and the hunt was on.
The video, captured by photographer and tour guide Andrea Baratte, immediately picks up with four elk running close together with a wolf pack spread out behind them. While the elk were trying to practice “strength in numbers,” the wolves chasing them down decided to go with the “divide and conquer” method. It made for quite the intense chase down.
And you might watch this video and ask “Where’s the rest of the elk herd?” That’s a good question, considering elk herds are typically comprised of 200 to 400 members. There’s a chance that these four elk were separated from a bigger group, and though it was a small number of females, they were stirring up enough dust and snow trying to get away from the wolves in hot pursuit that you would have thought there were more.
The elk were likely sprinting at top speed, meaning they were clocking in at around 40 miles per hour. Luckily for the elk, a wolves full throttle speed is around that as well, so it was a fairly even race. And the wildlife photographer and tour guide who runs the “Montana Wild” page got it all on camera, and explained the video – and where he saw all of this go down – like this:
“In winter, wolves primarily hunt elk that are already vulnerable, especially individuals in poor nutritional condition. Femur marrow fat is analyzed to determine the condition of prey. An elk might have appeared physically healthy and in good shape, but the analysis often reveals the opposite.
Elk in good condition are rarely killed unless environmental traps or conditions limit their ability to escape. During winter, the majority of elk spend their time in lower elevations of the northern range. Wolves encounter elk frequently, but only about 10-15% of attempted chases end successfully for them.”
And the wildlife photographer added in the captions overlaid within the video that this particular hunt was not successful for the wolves, even though it did look like they were doing a good job of singling out one of the elk. I would have thought that one elk that split off was a goner, but according to Andrea Baratte, every wild animal that was captured in this footage lived to see another day.
Check it out:
