Wolves and grizzly bears both kill and eat elk, but they don’t exactly like to share. Indeed, each species will happily scavenge the other’s kill when the other is absent. Things can get very interesting, indeed, when both species converge on the same kill.
Imagine a kindergarten class with a big cake on the floor and no teacher in sight. Now imagine one of the kindergarteners is a really, really big kid who has been held back for, say, 20 years, and is built like a defensive line guard for a professional football team.
For the rest of the class, imagine a bunch of kids who are smart, fast, agile, hungry and cooperate well together. Now add hair, claws and fangs for everyone and you have an approximation of a grizzly bear squabbling with a wolf pack over food.
That was the scene early one evening in the Lamar Valley, in May, 2003. I was attending a grizzly bear conference, and we’d driven out near dusk to see what we could see.
The cars and vans parked by the side of the road told us something was up, as did the binoculars, spotting scopes and giant cameras-all aimed on the other side of the valley.
To the naked eye, there was a dark spot under a big tree, a bigger spot above it, and four or five tiny spots in motion around the bigger spots. When I managed to borrow a pair of binoculars, the spots resolved themselves into a dead elk, a big grizzly bear standing on the kill, and a group of wolves milling around the bear and elk.
The bear’s attitude seemed to be, “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine.” An observer from earlier in the day said wolves had pulled down the elk, but before they got very far with their meal, the bear ambled up and drove them off.
While we watched, two wolves approached the bear from one side, while a third wolf circled to the back. The bear spun to face what seemed to be the greater threat. That left his hindquarters exposed to a slashing, hit-and-run attack on his butt. The bear spun about and charged, but not very far, returning to lie down on the elk and begin eating it.
The wolves never left the bear alone, but the bear was eating and the wolves were not.
A second, smaller grizzly bear started to approach the party, thought better of it, and ambled away.
The next morning, we returned to find the bear still under the tree, atop a partially-eaten elk, and a couple of wolves keeping an eye on things.
That’s generally how it goes in our all-natural kindergarten class – the big guy gets the food despite the harassment of the little guys.
Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service, saw something similar in the wilds of Alaska. Flying over a frozen lake, Bangs saw a dark spot in the distance. Flying closer, it looked like a ring around a dark spot in the middle.
“It turned out to be a big bear atop a dead moose, with a wolf pack gathered ’round,” said Bangs. In all likelihood, the wolves brought down the moose, said Bangs, only to lose it to the bear.
