Tag: Wolves

Oregon elk hunter shoots and kills wolf, prompting investigation

An elk hunter in Oregon has reported killing a wolf in self-defense, prompting wildlife officials to investigate.

An elk hunter in Oregon has reported killing a wolf in self-defense, prompting wildlife officials to launch an investigation.

The Oregon State Police stated Monday that the hunter claimed to have been threatened by the wolf as he tracked elk on Nov. 2 along a ridge in Grant County.

The hunter told OSP Fish and Wildlife Troopers that the wolf emerged from the trees and stared him down as he yelled and waved his arms in an attempt to frighten the animal.

“The wolf then reportedly looked at the hunter from a distance of approximately 30 yards and started coming directly toward the hunter,” OSP described in a news release. “The hunter stated he feared for his safety and fired one round, striking the wolf and killing it instantly.”

Troopers who visited the scene determined that the wolf was about 18 yards from the hunter when he shot the animal. A second wolf also emerged but ran off after the hunter fired into the air.

Wolves are protected in Oregon and there is no general sport-hunting season for the animals.

OSP said a report on the incident will be submitted to the Grant County District Attorney’s Office.

The agency added: “Preliminary investigation revealed the hunter acted reasonably in shooting the wolf for personal safety and appropriately notified officials immediately upon shooting the wolf.”

–Generic wolf image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

A true survivor, Yellowstone wolf pup issues ‘adult-like howl’

This year’s lone surviving pup from a popular Yellowstone National Park wolf pack has expressed herself as a survivor and a force.

This year’s lone surviving pup from a popular Yellowstone National Park wolf pack has expressed herself as a survivor and a force.

Taylor Rabe, a Yellowstone Wolf Project researcher, shared the accompanying footage showing the young wolf issuing an “adult-like howl” before continuing across the wintry landscape.

Rabe stated via Instagram: “Extra sassy + extra cute — featuring the Junction Butte pack’s one and only surviving puppy this year. This female pup is about 7 months old, and not too small anymore (listen to her new adult-like howl).”

The Junction Butte pack inhabits the park’s northern range.

Life is difficult for all park wolves, which are vulnerable to attacks by other wolves and the large critters wolves prey upon in order to survive – and by hunters and trappers if wolves wander beyond park boundaries.

Rabe explained that the Junction Butte pack produced two litters this year and that researchers “had visuals on multiple puppies born, but we’ll never know why she was the only one that survived.”

Rabe’s post has two click-through portions: one featuring the howl and the other showing the the wary predator on the move sporting a thickening winter coat.

Stated Rabe: “She’s quite beautiful now, and continues to grow like a weed.”

Yellowstone wolves react to first big snow; park issues advisory

Winter appears to have arrived early in Yellowstone National Park, affecting tourism and signaling a major seasonal change for wolves.

Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday cautioned tourists to postpone travel to and inside the park because of a “significant winter storm” that created hazardous driving conditions.

At the same time, researcher Taylor Rabe was afield in the park studying the Lupine Creek wolf pack.

“Yellowstone’s Northern range had its first very big snow today, and it was not kind to us,” Rabe, who conducts research for the Yellowstone Wolf Project, stated via Instagram. “Shutting down most of the park roads at one point or another this morning, the snow continues to fall. Winter is here.”

Rabe’s post shows wolves standing in the snow as if struck by the realization that a major seasonal change had just occurred.

However, viewers who click to her fourth slide will see wolf pups playing with one another as driving snow obscured the scene.

Rabe continued: “The Lupine Creek pack gave me a brief sighting in the snow flurries, providing me with the first opportunity since denning season to see some of this year’s new pups from the ground. It’s always exciting watching these little satellite packs grow each year. I’m very fond of these guys!”

The park announced temporary road closures as a winter storm warning was in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday night. It was not clear when the roads would reopen.

Prospective visitors were also reminded that most roads will close to automobile traffic Nov. 1, as usual, as the park prepares for the snowmobile and snow-coach season beginning Dec. 15.

The only roads open to automobile traffic year-round in Yellowstone, weather permitting, are between the North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, and the Northeast Entrance in Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana.

That stretch includes Lamar Valley, one of the premier locations from which to observe wolves in the winter.

Watch: Yellowstone wolf pack chases 300 elk with unlikely result

A wildlife photographer was in the right place at the right time to capture video footage of a once-in-a-lifetime sighting at Yellowstone.

A wildlife photographer in Yellowstone National Park was in the right place at the right time to capture video footage of a herd of elk being chased by a pack of wolves in a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.

Michael Sypniewski, who is also a wildlife tour guide, shared the “thrilling and absolutely tragic” video on his Instagram page, as reported by Field and Stream.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael Sypniewski (@michaelwsyp)


“Sitting alone atop a rocky ridge, I watched a scene unfold that I am not sure I will ever see again,” Sypniewski wrote in his video description. “A pack of 20 or more wolves in pursuit of a herd of 300+ elk. This chase, unlike many for wolves, ended in success as they were able to bring down a young cow elk.”

One wolf managed to single out the young cow elk, which stumbled and allowed the wolf to get ahold of its hind leg. The wolf held on until reinforcements came to help take down the elk in a show of nature you don’t always get to see.

Commenters were amazed by the footage. Among the comments on Instagram:

“I mean, thrilling and absolutely tragic simultaneously?”

“Truly spectacular footage.”

“Fantastic video Michael!”

“Despite life being brutal, it’s amazing how well it balances itself out. Without natural predators many populations reach peaks with higher disease and sickness. Also, Lyme disease is transported by deer and you can see its impact on areas which predators were initially exterminated.”

“The circle of life is brutal… I’ll also never understand why prey animals are the cutest.”

Wolf steals trail camera and video evidence ‘is a bit telling’

A remote trail camera in Alberta, Canada, has captured nighttime footage showing a wolf running off with another camera.

A remote trail camera in Alberta, Canada, has captured nighttime footage showing a wolf running off with another camera.

The footage is amusing in that viewers can track the purloined camera in the wolf’s muzzle because of a bright light detected by other trail cameras.

The cameras are monitored by the Help Alberta Wildies Society (HAWS), which conducts research on wild horses.

“In case there was any doubt about who ran off with the trail camera, the evidence is a bit telling,” HAWS joked on Facebook.

HAWS informed followers that it retrieved the camera and “it was pretty chewed up but it kept recording.”

HAWS added that the infrared light from the camera is not visible to wolves or humans. The only reason viewers can see the light is because it was detected by other cameras utilizing the same technology.

“The trailcams pick up that light when they’ve been triggered by movement at night,” HAWS explained. “It was totally dark as far as the wolf could see.”

Two wolves are shown in the footage, including the camera thief, which ultimately trots in front of the camera that captured the footage.

The wolves belong to a pack of seven that “are picked up frequently by our cameras as they pass by our research areas for wild horses,” HAWS told FTW Outdoors.

It was not clear why the wolf removed the camera from its anchor but several viewers joked, before being educated on the invisibility of infrared light, that it might have needed a flashlight.

Watch: Coyote freaks out in presence of trail camera

Footage shows wolves and a coyote reacting to trail cameras, with the coyote earning the prize for theatrics.

On Friday we shared footage showing an elusive Yellowstone National Park wolf pack reacting to a remote motion-sensor trail camera.

Taylor Rabe, a researcher, stated via Instagram: “Wolves are very aware when cameras are in the area, and you can see these two adults checking it out!”

Her video was reminiscent of the accompanying footage, captured last year in Canada’s Yukon Territory. In the Yukon Wildlife Cams video, the canid is a coyote and its response is spirited.

David Troup of Yukon Trail Cams stated on Facebook: “Coyotes are known for being wary of trail cameras as this one demonstrates with a rather animated response upon that sudden realization.”

In the footage, the coyote stops in its tracks and bows briefly before bounding away from perceived danger.

Troup’s cameras are disguised but he explained, “Inevitably wildlife can detect peculiarities in their environment, whether it’s by sight, sound or smell.”

Yukon Wildlife Cams last year also shared footage showing a momma grizzly bear mouthing a trail camera near a pond.

‘Elusive’ Yellowstone wolf pack reacts to trail cam

A researcher who studies wolves in Yellowstone National Park on Thursday shared footage showing a rarely seen pack reacting to a trail camera.

A researcher who studies wolves in Yellowstone National Park on Thursday shared footage showing a rarely seen pack reacting to a trail camera.

Viewers can click here to watch Taylor Rabe’s Instagram reel featuring adult members of the Shrimp Lake Pack in the northeast portion of the park.

Two wolves are shown inspecting or reacting to the motion-sensor camera and, as Rabe jokingly notes, those who listen with sound can hear one wolf “taking a pee on a tree.”

“Wolves are very aware when cameras are in the area, and you can see these two adults checking it out!” Rabe explains in the footage, which was captured in June.

According to Rabe, who conducts research for the Yellowstone Wolf Project,  the Shrimp Lake Pack consists of four adults (including two yearlings) and four new pups.

Wolves reach adult size in about one year and viewers can glimpse the yearlings – one black, the other gray – on the trail behind the older wolves.

Rabe concludes: “The Shrimps are very elusive, so any sighting of them is exciting – even on a trail cam!”

–Images are video screen shots

Yellowstone wolves caught on camera bringing ‘toys’ to den

Yellowstone National Park biologist have shared video footage showing wolves delivering animal bones and other items to their den to keep younger wolves occupied.

Yellowstone National Park has shared video footage showing wolves delivering bones and other skeletal remains to their den to keep younger wolves occupied.

The park explained via social media:

“Pups await food deliveries from successful hunts, but in the absence of food adults bring ‘toys.’ The instinct to bring items back to the den may be reinforced by evolution, and probably helps keep adults from being mobbed by sharp puppy teeth.”

The footage was captured by park biologists last spring and involved members of the Mollie’s pack.

As of January 2023, 10 wolf packs were known to reside inside the park. The overall population was estimated at 108 wolves.

The Mollie’s Pack is named after Mollie Beattie,  Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the wolf reintroduction effort in 1995.

Yellowstone bison ‘barrel onto scene’ to save calf from wolves

A guide has captured dramatic footage showing two adult bison rushing to the rescue as wolves attacked a young calf in Yellowstone National Park.

A guide has captured dramatic footage showing two adult bison rushing to the rescue as wolves attacked a young calf in Yellowstone National Park.

Michael Sypniewski, who guides for Yellowstone Wolf Tracker, described what he documented via Instagram:

“This young bison was sleeping on the outskirts of it’s herd when it was caught off guard by a group of wolves. Separated from the herd, I thought for sure the wolves were on their way to securing an easy meal.

“Then, seemingly out of no where, two adult bison from the nearby herd came barreling onto the scene to protect the youngster, almost trampling the calf in the process.”

The bison calf, which sustained bite wounds, did not appear to have been seriously injured.

ALSO: Rare footage shows massive python navigating Kenya stream

Wolves in Yellowstone prey on bison calves – along with elk, deer and other mammals – and have been known to attack adult bison if an animal appears vulnerable.

Bison are the largest land mammals in North America and can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. More than 5,000 bison inhabit Yellowstone National Park.

–Generic bison image courtesy of NPS/Yellowstone National Park

Everton may actually wriggle out of their latest jam, thanks to Yerry Mina

Better late than never, right Toffees?

Everton, having looked for most of the season like a sure candidate for relegation, is once again working on a great escape.

On Saturday, the Toffees trailed at Wolves from the 34th minute, and the home side missed several chances to add a second. That would have set Everton — who kicked off with a one-point edge over the teams in the relegation zone — with an ultra-stressful Sunday.

A 1-0 loss would have allowed Leeds (who face West Ham) and Leicester City (who are at Newcastle) to climb out of the drop zone at Everton’s expense if either managed a win. If Everton were to lose at Wolves and then again in their finale against Bournemouth, Leeds could even pass them with a couple of draws, or on goal difference if they took a single point in their last two matches.

As the 90th minute arrived, Everton got an opening: nine minutes of stoppage time to somehow produce an equalizer. The Toffees needed a hero to score a goal: possibly Dwight McNeil or Demarai Gray, their leading scorers? How about Alex Iwobi, who scored their critical equalizer at Leicester earlier this month?

All worthy scorers, but Everton would end up being saved on the day (and possibly the season) by a less likely star.

Their hero was, you guessed it, Yerry Mina. A center back with just six Premier League appearances in a season marred by injury and a benching — that sounds like the man to score a hugely dramatic goal on the road when his team most desperately needs one.

And there he was, in the ninth minute of those nine minutes of stoppage time, all 6-foot-5 of him stabbing at the ball while falling to produce an equalizer that could end up keeping the Toffees in the Premier League.

Per Opta, Mina’s shot crossed the line with 98:54 on the clock, making it the latest Premier League goal that Everton have scored in at least 17 years. It’s also just Mina’s second of the season, and naturally his first came against…Wolves. Of course it did.

At this stage of last season, Everton were in a similar spot, coming from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Goodison Park, clinching Premier League safety and sparking a pitch invasion before full time.

Watch Mina score a huge goal for Everton

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