Wolf-Bear standoff in Yellowstone
First visit to Yellowstone and we witnessed the most dramatic scene!
On Saturday, May 16th, my wife and I woke up around 4:30 am in the hopes to spot some wolves in Lamar Valley. What we witnessed far exceeded our expectations.
As we are making our way down the gravel road on Slough Creek there is a bald eagle perched in a dead tree - the eagles had been feasting on a bison carcass for the last few days further down the valley. There are a few bison grazing on the far side of Slough Creek.
Along the creek there are viewing spots with perfect line-of-sight to the Junction Butte Pack den. The day prior we had seen 12 wolves from the pack chasing a herd of bison. Later in the same day we had seen the Alpha female take a nap outside the den with what appeared to be swollen nipple from having fed her pups.
As we are scoping the den on Saturday morning, we witness small, tight herd of Elk sprinting away from an unseen threat. As they moved closer to the den they stopped and looked behind them. I panned the scope around just in time to witness a mother grizzly and yearling sprinting down the hillside right by the wolf den.
Out of nowhere, as if they appeared out of thin air, there were 5 wolves prepared to defend their den. There was a 30+ minute standoff between the wolves and grizzlies with the yearling being the main aggressor.
The grizzlies eventually made their way down the valley with no casualties on either side.
Truly incredible experience.