Every season is a struggle to survive.yellowstone national park.
Predators and prey regularly engage in life-or-death battles; instinctive the decision not to inflict fatal injury, or run away To fight another day.
One such battle unfolded Sunday on the Blacktail Plateau north of Yellowstone. A large pack of wolves discovered a bison. We had broken up I was a bit too far away from the herd and was in a hurry to make the most of the moment.
“This was an opportunity,” said Andrea Baratte, a wildlife biologist and guide with Yellowstone Adventure Tours who shot video of the hunt through a spotting scope. “The Rescue Creek herd was traveling together and spotted a slightly isolated bison and started running toward it.”
As soon as the bison was in danger, it turned and kicked violently.
One of the wolves caught its hind legs squarely on its chest and slammed it into the air, but the wolf immediately landed on all fours and literally ran toward the ground.
Most wolf and bison hunts fail, and Baratte said this was one of his failed attempts.
“The bison quickly caught up with the herd and all pursuit ended,” he said.
When faced with the heavy horned heads of an entire herd of bison, the wolves backed away; all We carefully went our separate ways.
adapt and overcome
When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995, biologists hoped to control the park’s overwhelming number of elk by culling them.
The 14 gray wolves brought to the park were conditioned to hunt elk. One reason for this is that biologists placed elk carcasses in acclimatization sheds as they acclimated to their new homes.
Since 1995, Yellowstone’s elk population has declined significantly, and changes in their behavior and movements have far-reaching implications for the park’s biodiversity.
Yellowstone wolves also rapidly diversified their diet.
Bison carcasses have always been harvested, but some herds in the park are targeting bison more frequently.
“Wolves generally attack the easiest and most abundant prey,” says George Wartner, an ecologist, author, and bison advocate. “Bison are very large animals. If you can kill them, you get a lot of calories. It’s always worth it, but it comes with greater risk.”
The hunting strategy of bison by wolf packs is not very different from that of elk, deer, and elk. Wolves relentlessly attack bison herds until, if possible, young or injured individuals break away and are exposed to attack.
“Wolves usually try to attack these animals from behind, coming up behind them and grabbing their butts,” Wartner said. “One or two wolves will pull you down from behind, and then the other wolves will grab you by the throat and try to finish you off.
“The first thing to do is get their hind legs and neutralize them.”
Yellowstone has several wolf packs with distinct territories, but not all of them are bison hunters.
“It’s the bigger herds that go after the bigger prey, whether it’s elk or bison,” Veltner said. “You need a pack of at least 12 animals. The more animals you have, the better your chances of killing a bison.”
The Rescue Creek pack currently has about 16 wolves and is often seen hunting and hanging out between Blacktail Plateau and Tower Junction.
This may be enough to successfully defeat a bison, but it’s not something bison often attempt.
“It depends on the puck,” Barrett said. “Some packs are more specialized (on bison) than others, but that’s mostly during the winter months. From my personal observation, I wouldn’t say the Rescue Creek pack specifically targets bison.”
Lamar Valley’s wapiti wolf pack successfully hunts bison in the winter.
A successful hunt in February 2025 saw a panicked bison lunge into a group of onlookers, but no one was injured.
hard knock life
For wolves, the cost of a failed bison hunt can be deadly. Wolves may be smarter, but one bison could easily outsmart them all combined Always has the advantage of size and strength.
Baratte didn’t know if the wolf that was kicked by the bison was seriously injured. Indeed, the moment did not seem to affect him, he quickly recovered from the blow and went after the fleeing bison.
“It was too far away to make out,” he said. “I think we were about three miles away. At my range, I couldn’t tell if the wolf was limping away or doing something, but it was hard to tell from my range.”
Wolves can withstand surprisingly powerful blows from bison, elk, and moose. But that doesn’t mean they’ll escape unscathed.
“When older wolves are dissected, they almost always have broken bones,” Wartner said. “If you live five or six years, there’s a good chance you’ll get kicked a lot, have ribs that need to be repaired, or break your leg.”
Predators will avoid injury at all costs, even if it means not getting a meal. That’s why the Rescue Creek herd gave up tracking the bison as soon as they arrived.
from the head
Moose and elk are the kicker. They use their front and hind legs to ward off predators, and if they’re lucky, they might land a blow.
Bison can kick, sure, but they prefer to tackle problems head-on.
“Bison often form a defensive formation,” Veltner said. “The outer periphery is a mature animal with a calf in the center. This is going to intimidate the threat to the inside. It’s just intimidation.”
Intimidation is a powerful weapon.
A bison’s downcast head and sharp horns aren’t usually enough to intimidate selfie-seeking Yellowstone tourists, but wolves don’t mind once they come face-to-face with a single bison, let alone a defensive circle.
This strategy is common in musk ox herds in the Arctic, where wolves are their main natural enemy.
“If the bison doesn’t buckle or show any fear, the wolf will say, ‘It’s not worth my time, I don’t want to die today,'” says Wartner, and move on. “Bison aren’t afraid to use their horns.”
The bison kick could be called a last resort, a desperate strategy. That means they are trying to outrun their pursuers or reunite with friends who are already being chased by wolves.
“If a predator comes up behind you, kicking your hind legs is a very effective strategy,” Weltner said. “They will do whatever it takes to fight off the wolves.”
always great
Live wolves and dead bison are big business in Yellowstone. Although most people have never seen a wolf pack successfully kill a bison, bison carcasses are a year-round attraction for wolves, grizzlies, and tourists.
Now that winter is over, bison carcasses that died during the winter are being thawed. The rotting meat attracts all the opportunistic animals in the park, creating incredible scenes of conflict and cooperation.
Barrett and his Yellowstone Adventure Tour didn’t have any success hunting that day, but no one complained. Yellowstone’s natural drama rarely disappoints.
“It’s always fascinating to see the interactions between wolves and prey,” Barrett said. “Two great forces of nature are interacting, and it’s always spectacular.”
andrew rossi It can be accessed at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
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