No Fear

My closest wolf encounter to date came a few weeks ago in Yellowstone National Park. I had just returned to my car after wandering around looking for badgers, and was chatting with some friends when this black wolf ambled down the same hillside I had been exploring moments before.

Rather than shy away from the building crowd of people on the road (as most wolves do), this individual walked right up onto the pavement maybe 30 yards away. It stopped to scope out the large herd of bison on the opposite side of the road, and then it started walking... right at us.

Eventually, it came within about 10 feet of the first onlookers before cutting back behind our cars, passing right by my wife's window as I was urgently gesticulating at her to wake up from her nap. The wolf was soon joined by a gray as they continued to scout the bison before they ultimately gave up and disappeared back uphill.

I learned later that this wolf was a former member of the Mollies Pack, a family of big strong wolves that has a reputation for killing bison (something many Yellowstone packs avoid, subsisting primarily on elk). That probably explains the intense interest in the bison, though it doesn't necessary explain the fearlessness around humans.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 500mm + 1.4x TC
ISO 400
1/1000th
f/5.6

Max