Last One

This wolf is the last of the Druid wolf pack which roamed the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone since 1996. She is the last of an 11 member pack which has died out from an attack of mange or been killed by other wolves. She was chewing on the remnants of an elk carcass and looks like she could have used a good meal instead. She is not expected to survive this winter and by the haunted look in her eyes she may know her time is short. Canon 1D Mk II N + EF 400mm f/5.6L.

Steve,

A splendid picture and a tragic story. Are there more of these wolves around? I don't know their story.

Asher

Hi Steve

Great picture, and the presence of the bird (Magpie?) adds to it. It's funny how, aided by your story, timid and non-threatening she looks. Yet I know that a pack of wolves hunting can be a quite terrifying prospect.

Mike

Thanks Asher and Mike. She is probably too weak to do much harm at this point although if she's hungry enough you could be that good meal she needs. There are still a number of wolf packs roaming Yellowstone but they are less accessible except by spotting scope where the Druids were more likely to be within shooting range. The packs have been very active this spring with quite a few kills even fairly close to the highway. Here is more of the story.

Thank you for the image.
Beautiful and sad at the same time.
Who knows whether the pack would have had a better chance of survival if 3 of it's members had not been senselessly shot?

I likethis shot -

The Durids we my first pack in the park - it makes me so sad to see them go -

My best images are of Druids.... they had a good run...