Tag: outdoor

Yellowstone wolves visit Old Faithful in surreal webcam footage

Members of the Wapiti wolf pack were observed strolling across the boardwalk system that winds around Old Faithful and other thermal features.

Yellowstone National Park fans who tuned into the Old Faithful webcam  Thursday morning were thrilled to see wolves strolling across the iconic thermal region.

“What a view this morning!” Yellowstone Forever exclaimed via X. “The webcam captured some incredible footage of the park’s Wapiti wolf pack making its way through the Upper Geyser Basin.”

The webcam footage – rare footage, indeed – shows several wolves on and near the basin’s sprawling boardwalk system. (See footage below.)

A 10-minute version produced by the National Park Service (posted below) shows more extensive exploration by the wolves near Old Faithful and other geysers as steam floats across the wintry landscape.

At times, the wolves are traveling on boardwalks that are crowded with tourists in spring and summer. One wolf is shown near a geyser’s vent, as if savoring its warmth.

A screen shot from the webcam footage was posted on the Yellowstone Insiders Hub Facebook page by Joe Nagel, who exclaimed: “Wolves right now on the Old Faithful webcam!”

One follower joked: “Get. On. The. Boardwalk,” in reference to a park regulation that applies only to human visitors.

Another remarked, “Well, that probably cleared the elk and bison out of the geyser basin.”

Old Faithful is in the southwest portion of the 2.2-million-acre park, which is situated in Wyoming and small portions of Montana and Idaho.

Although wolf sightings can occur anywhere inside the park, the most likely spotting destinations are across the vast northern range.

–Footage courtesy of the National Park Service

Yellowstone tourists encounter one of park’s rarest animals

A father and daughter visiting Yellowstone National Park for the first time on Saturday enjoyed an exceedingly rare encounter with a wolverine in what their guide described as a period in which time appeared to have stood still.

A father and daughter visiting Yellowstone National Park for the first time on Saturday enjoyed an exceedingly rare encounter with a wolverine in what their guide described as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“For the rest of the tour, the 9-year-old daughter couldn’t stop saying, every 15 minutes or so, ‘Wow… we saw a wolverine today!’” MacNeil Lyons, owner of Yellowstone Insight, recalled to For The Win Outdoors. “She told me it was the most amazing day ever in her life.”

Lyons captured several images of the elusive critter, which he shared via Facebook.

In a Saturday post that included a photo showing the wolverine facing the group from the road, Lyons commented on the rarity of the encounter and added:

“It was only 2-3 minutes, but it was as if time stood still. There was for sure a true and focused connection between two sentient beings.”

On Sunday, Lyons detailed how he captured the images and said he and his Southern California clients “felt beyond elated at this chance encounter,” considering that the number of wolverines residing inside park boundaries might be a few as seven. (See Facebook post below.)

Lyons did not disclose the location of the sighting, but explained that it occurred at 11:38 a.m. as he was rounding a corner. The wolverine, in the oncoming lane, was visible as a “low to-the-ground, dark animal loping away from us.”

RELATED: Rare footage shows elusive Yellowstone National Park cougar

One of his guests asked if it was a small bear, but Lyons quickly realized that what they were observing “was, indeed, a wolverine!”

Perhaps the last time a documented wolverine sighting in Yellowstone National Park generated headlines was January 2021. The park shared video footage captured a month earlier by a motion-sensor trail camera and stated:

“Last month, park biologists were excited to find one of Yellowstone’s rarest mammals triggered a remote trail camera outside the Mammoth Hot Springs area!”

It was the first video footage of a wolverine captured by a trail camera inside the park.

Wolverines, members of the weasel family, reside mostly in high-altitude alpine and forest habitat and can weigh as much as 30 pounds.

They prey largely on small mammals and birds, and also eat vegetation. But wolverines can be ferocious and are capable of killing animals many times their size.

Wolverines are mostly solitary except during breeding season. They’re active during the day and den in deep snow or beneath fallen or uprooted trees.

Lions have no new positive COVID-19 results on Wednesday, outdoor practice scheduled without identified coaches

The Detroit Lions announced they have no new positive COVID-19 results on Wednesday, and an outdoor practice is scheduled for the afternoon without contact tracing identified coaches.

The Detroit Lions had two positive COVID-19 results on Tuesday — one player and one coach — and were forced to close their Allen park practice facilities. Today, the team announced that they had no new positive COVID-19 results and were proceeding with an afternoon outdoor practice.

Unfortunately, due to contact tracing, several of the Lions coaching staff have been identified as close contact exposures — including interim coach Darrell Bevell, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport — and will stay away from the training facility, meeting only virtually with the team.

The Lions released the following statement:

This morning our COVID-19 test results yielded no new positive tests. As a result of the contact tracing process, several coaches will remain away from the team facility until further notice. We anticipate conducting an outdoor practice this afternoon and our players and coaches will continue to meet virtually this morning.

As of now, the Lions still appear to be on schedule to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EST. On a short week, today’s practice will be their second of the week, with the third and final practice taking place on Thursday.

Stay tuned to Lions Wire for more updates on this situation as it continues to unfold.