The Perfect Crossing Yesterday I had high hopes of seeing the Lamar Canyons and when I speak of seeing them it never occurs to me that daddy, 925, will be amongst them because he is the elusive leader. Well, actually, 926 wears the pants in the family and he should probably never forget that but 925 has obviously done well in providing the needs of his family. As I mentioned before, 925, is thought to be from the Hoodoo pack, though originally it was thought that he and 960 (a now deceased young female) were from the Pahaska pack. Also, the wolf project guesses his age at around 4 so much younger than some thought. His mate, 925, is three. This wolf arrived into Yellowstone and into a nightmare of people anxious to see the Lamar Canyons - a fact that he has never embraced. I have seen him cross the road very close to people, when following the rest of the pack, but given a choice he will go miles out of his way to avoid humans. I have seen him do this many times. Well, yesterday, we thought he was to the east but he snuck across the road from the den area and crossed Soda Butte Creek with his family not far behind but unable to follow because of a crowd, I was told. I did not see this crowd or this action because I had been down the way a little. But, when I returned to the scene, no one was in the area that the wolves would have crossed so mayhem must have erupted and settled quickly. At this time I was told that the wolves had gone back up the hill so carried my camera down the road a little ways to see up in that direction. But, Rick was concerned that they might come back down do I did not go far and did not see the wolves. We waited and waited and then finally I went to Hitching post to watch from there for awhile. Traffic and everything was quiet and so I became suspicious that wolves were being seen around the bend and headed back to Footbridge where folks were indeed watching something. As I passed the lot I spotted 925 out along the creek and knew he was headed to cross. And so I went to the next pullout instead of going closer to where he would cross and got a few bad shots in the heat waves and against the sun. Still, it is the closest that I have seen him in a long time. 925 was pudgy the last I saw him but he has lost quite a lot of weight, which actually looks good on him. More lean and tough looking rather than roly poly mamas boy look. By stopping well before where 925 was going to cross, and then Rick coming up behind me and stopping traffic, the boy was able to cross without any interference. This is a major accomplishment in Yellowstone! I would have loved to have gotten better shots of him but just seeing him cross the road without a car in sight was a wonderful blessing. Please, when you see wolves getting ready to cross the road, dont chase and block them with your cars. These are wild animals and they do deserve some respect. That goes for all wildlife but some are more adaptable than others. If he had been blocked this wolf would have travelled another 3 miles down the creek and tried to cross there but people would have blocked him again and again. Just stop and watch - road crossing photos arent all that good anyways. From what I know, the family never did make it across the road yesterday. This is kind of typical in Yellowstone and so it should not surprise anyone. People are just so anxious to see a wolf and are kept so far back from them when there is a good watching opportunity that it is extremely rare. Which makes people super excited when they get to see them close and then they forget their manners. So, think!
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 13:24:33 +0000
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