The winding mountain road was covered with a thick compact layer of snow forming a solid ice sheet–and it was slick. This meant stopping and turning where severely compromised. Coming from Minnesota this normally wouldn’t bother me but the right hand side of the road was a granite rock wall and the left hand side of the road was a sheer drop off of several hundred feet and best yet, there was no guard rail.
It was pre-dawn so the only thing I could see was the narrow patch of road that was illuminated in my headlights. Adding to the hassle factor was the air temperatures was crazy cold. My truck thermometer said -40. That was the air temperature not wind chill. I swear, the things I do for my job as a wildlife photographer are often crazy but at the same time thrilling.
One of the best places I know to photograph wolves is Yellowstone National Park so here I am again driving the mountain roads in the middle of winter. I am currently working on a book about wolves and need some images to help fill out the book.
At these temperatures I needed to be careful not to break off my truck door handles every time I open the doors. I also have to worry about snapping metal springs or bust the air shocks that help open my truck’s rear hatch. I’ve done all of these in the past so I am extra cautious. Each time I get in and out of my truck is an exercise in caution. Standing outside in these temperatures is also a challenge.
Every square inch of skin is covered with several layers of clothing with the exception of my eyes. Several times the water on the surface of my eyes would freeze my eye lashes together. All it takes is one blink and my eyelashes start to freeze together. To remedy this I withdraw a finger from my glove and hold it across my eye for a few seconds. The heat from my finger melts the ice and I can open my eye again. Not fun.
Surprisingly my camera gears functions flawlessly in these extreme conditions. But I think it would be a bad idea to drop any of the camera equipment for fear it would shatter into pieces upon impact.
In the pre-dawn light I can see a small herd of elk gathered on a snowy ridge. Every member of the herd has its head up and they are standing in an alert posture. This is called–being vigil. And for good reasons. Just about 200 feet away is a pack of five wolves. Apparently during the night the wolves took down one of the elk. The snow depth was about five feet so running from the wolves was not an option for the elk. They were best served to stand together as a group and fight using their powerful front legs and sharply pointed hooves.
About an hour into the saga, the wolves left the carcass and climbed up the snowy hill next to the elk. One by one the wolves reached the top of the ridge and started to howl. Two members of the pack was still more than a mile away and I could hear them howling in return. For the next ten minutes the main group howled and listened for the response. I was elated. Through the view finder on my camera I could see the images were going to be perfect for my wolf book. I took a series of images each time the group howled. What an exciting morning.
After howling, the group of wolves got up and started walking through the deep snow. They walked in single file breaking a path in the snow for the others to follow. The alpha female lead the way. I can clearly see she is the largest and most powerful member of the pack. As soon as the pack was out of sight I turned my attention to the elk. The elk turned and just like the wolves lined up single file and started out across the deep snow in the opposite direction. This is a wonderful example of the life and death struggle all of these animals face on a daily basis in a place with a complete ecosystem. Until next time…
Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com