{"id":69416,"date":"2025-01-28T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/?p=69416"},"modified":"2025-01-28T05:52:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T12:52:32","slug":"the-wonder-of-wolves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/the-wonder-of-wolves\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wonder of Wolves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BMP1391.jpg&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Z9#2&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;|||0px|false|false&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|||&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Gray Wolf captured by Z 9 \/ Z600f4TC w\/Z2x @1200mm<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;16px&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;20px||30px||false|false&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>It was a spectacular morning! The Wapiti Lake Pack was out in force in Hayden Valley. When we arrived on the scene, the pack had focused on a small cow herd by some pines. It was a stand-off until one of the cows tried to make a break for it. I would give anything to understand what was going through their minds because what unfolded was nothing short of stunning. The cows raced across the snow-covered sage. At one point, two cows turned doing a 180 and chasing the wolves as the rest of the herd kept moving. There were at least two yearlings in the small herd. They then turned and ran back to the herd. The wolves were not going to be denied. The whole mass ran behind a small ridge, the trailing cow had one wolf on its rear as they all disappeared for a moment. Then a moment later that cow had done a 90 and was running perpendicular from the rest of the herd which continued to crash through the snow and up the ridge.<\/p>\n<p>That cow&#8217;s fate was now sealed. I wonder, did the cow sacrifice itself for the rest of the herd? Did it know its move had sealed its fate? From our brief time, it seemed as healthy as the rest of the herd. Within ten minutes it was all over. The cow had nine wolves feasting on it while the rest of the herd was back to grazing. Over the next ninety minutes, we watched 23 wolves chow down until there was only a head and a rib cage left. It was live drama playing out on the Yellowstone plain. I&#8217;d never witnessed a takedown and kill, it was amazing biology to see!<\/p>\n<p>If you look at the chase photo above, you see the wolf below in the pack of the attack pack. She gorged for about twenty minutes, and they laid down and got cleaned up. It then just went of a long walk. She ended up behind us, overlooking all the folks on the road, the kill, and the pack off to the east. It&#8217;s like she was taking it all in, the wonder of wolves.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BMP7296.jpg&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; box_shadow_style=&#8221;preset1&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Z9#2&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Gray Wolf captured by Z 9 \/ Z600f4TC w\/Z2x @1200mm<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;16px&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;20px||30px||false|false&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gray Wolf captured by Z 9 \/ Z600f4TC w\/Z2x @1200mmIt was a spectacular morning! The Wapiti Lake Pack was out in force in Hayden Valley. When we arrived on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1219","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"none","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-69416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wildlife-photography"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BMP7296.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=89&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"a9GF2CkrKQ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/the-wonder-of-wolves\/\">The Wonder of Wolves<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/the-wonder-of-wolves\/embed\/#?secret=a9GF2CkrKQ\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;The Wonder of Wolves&#8221; &#8212; Moose Peterson&#039;s Website\" data-secret=\"a9GF2CkrKQ\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! 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