The story of wolves in Yellowstone National Park is one of the most successful—and scrutinized—wildlife restoration projects in history. Since their reintroduction in 1995, they have fundamentally reshaped the ecosystem of the park. These days, the Junction Butte Pack is currently one of the most famous and photographed packs in the world. Their territory centers around the Lamar Valley and Little America, areas known as the “Serengeti of North America” because of the sheer density of predators and prey…. AKA tons of action for park visitors. Wolf packs, bison herds, grizzly bears and elk… the prevalence of wildlife is spectacular.
While a typical wolf pack averages 6 to 10 members, the Junctions have frequently ballooned into a “super-pack,” sometimes reaching 25 to 30+ individuals. They are known for “multi-mothering,” where separate litters of pups are raised together, and in many years, multiple females in the pack have successful litters simultaneously—a rarity that contributes to their massive size and dominant status. And because a main road runs right through their traditional territory, they are the primary subjects for “wolf watchers.”
Hunting Methods
Unlike “ambush predators” (mountain lions for example) that rely on a single explosive leap, wolves are coursing predators. They use endurance, strength in numbers, communication, and psychological pressure to wear down their prey. Don’t get me wrong, in a one on one battle, wolves are downright ferocious, but it’s all about efficiency and skill during a wolf hunt. Wolves use their sense of smell (which can detect prey from 2 miles away) to locate a herd of bison or elk, and when they finally locate one, the pack will generally approach and just… observe. Looking for any kind of weakness, they watch for a limp, an injury, a slow-poke straggler or a mother separated from a calf. Once a target is identified, the chase begins. Wolves can run at 35–40 mph at top speeds, but the truth is that they don’t need to be faster than an elk… they just need to run longer. And when you have 10-12 wolves on the hunt, each taking turns like a hockey team takes shifts, it’s pretty easy to outlast a single elk on the run.
The Junction Butte Pack in particular uses their high numbers to their advantage. They will often fan out, with younger, faster wolves “flanking” the prey to steer it into deep snow, riverbeds, or toward the “alpha” hunters waiting in the brush. Elk are their primary food source, usually targeting the hindquarters or neck to bring the animal down, but bison can also provide a feast for the entire pack. Because Junction Butte is a large pack, they are one of the few capable of regularly taking down a 2,000-lb bison. However, it does not come without risk, as a single kick from a bison can be fatal. Wolves are rather cautious by nature, and would rather live to fight another day, and keep the pack in tact, than risk a few members trying to take down a bison.
It’s a savage and barbaric reality in Yellowstone National Park, one marked by the harshest environments and the most ferocious predators. But one of the biggest killers in the park is sadly… people. In fact, despite the number of wild animals and potentially dangerous environmental features such as thermal pools, traffic-related accidents are the most common cause of injury and death for park-goers. And the animals aren’t immune… in 2022, the park recorded more than 50 known collisions wit large animals.
A Haunting Paw Print
A wildlife photographer has captured a bone-chilling image that perfectly encapsulates the nature of both the Junction Butte Pack, and Yellowstone National park itself. Currently going viral across social media, Scott Brovsky captured a single, perfectly defined, wolf paw print pressed into the deep snow, stained in a brilliant, visceral crimson red. The contrast of blood red and the pure, white snow perfectly illustrates the life and death contrast of the park… a place so vibrant, so teaming with abundant life, an ecosystem that powers forward like an unstoppable train, and yet… a place where every day is a fight for survival.
As it turns out, this member of the Junction Butte Pack stumbled upon a bison who met its demist at the hands of a vehicle collision. So while no, this wasn’t a marker of a successful hunt, still… the photo just goes SO hard.
“A wolf paw print in bison blood from this morning in Yellowstone. From one of the members of the Junction Butte pack.”
