For those of you who missed part 1 or if you need a reminder–when I left off the battle scared, gray female was desperately trying to gain acceptance into the Druid pack. However the resident females were not allowing her.

About half the members of the Druid pack are suffering from Mange (a parasitic mite that causes intense itching and hair loss) and they haven’t been able to find any food for days. They tried to steal some food from the neighboring pack and got into a big fight which left one of the Druid females mortally wounded..

In the early morning light the dead lifeless body of the female wolf was lying in the snow. Our fears came true. But where were the rest of the Druid pack? And where was the lone gray female that was so desperately seeking to gain acceptance?

We drove east, up and through the narrow rocky pass. On the other side is the Lamar valley. The valley is wide with a shallow river meandering through the center. Scanning the mountains sides along the way we were unsuccessful at locating any wildlife. It’s still early in the day and the clouds are thick and laden with snow. About 3 or 4 miles into the valley on the north side we are surprised to located the lone gray female wolf. She was sitting with the two black, male wolves from the Druid pack. Now this was interesting.

This took us by surprise because the gray female was a good 10 or more miles east of where we saw her last night. And what was more amazing was she was accompanied by two very healthy male wolves. The three stood up to shake off the snow that was falling. They started greeting each other with face licks and wagging tails which is normal with all canids. We were thrilled to see this because they appeared very happy together. We talked about the possibilities of a new pack forming right before our eyes.

The three wolves turned and walking up the mountain towards the ridge and went out of sight. The rest of the day was uneventful and actually rather boring.

At the end of the day about thirty minutes before the sun slipped behind the mountains that lay to the west of the valley, an extraordinary event unfolded before our eyes and cameras. While photographing a coyote near the road we suddenly noticed several elk running through the snow up on the top of the mountain ridge just in front of us. We swung out cameras up to get a better look and saw a heard of about 20 female elk running very fast across the snowy ridge. Following in hot pursuit was the gray female followed by the two black males. The hunt was on.

The elk and wolves disappeared behind the ridge. Predicting that they would emerge just a bit to the east we all piled into my truck and we started heading that direction and just as we predicted a lone female elk appeared on the ridge. The elk was running very hard and fast. It was apparent the wolf must be on her tail. A second later the gray female wolf appeared on the same ridge running in the deep snow. The elk turned and started to run down the mountain right towards us.

We pulled into a parking lot for a small grouping of buildings to get a better vantage point. We could see the gray wolf making huge leaps through the deep snow as she ran down the mountain side. She was about 75 feet behind the elk, which made her too far back to get a picture with both the elk and wolf together.

Passing behind the buildings the elk made a break for the road. Again we piled back into my truck and pulled out onto the road and stopped. About 300 yards in front of use the elk crossed the road at a full trot and we could clearly see she was out of breath and struggling to keep going. Next, the wolf hit the deep snow banks that lined the road and did a face-plant but managed to recover and continue the pursuit. However the wolf lost valuable ground. The elk ran out across the valley heading directly for the river. We all knew what this meant. The elk was heading for the safety in the river. Her long legs would allow her to stand in the freezing water knowing the wolf wouldn’t enter the deep water.

The elk made it to the river and from a great distance we could see water splashing as she ran into the deep section the river. Moments later the wolf arrived and was unable to pursue any further. It was a stand-off. Now we would see just how determined the female would be. Would she wait out the elk or give up and return?

Meanwhile behind us the two black male wolves appeared on the ridge looking for the female who was out of sight. They started howling but got no response from the female. About thirty minutes later a faint howling came from the female. Apparently she had given up the stand-off and was trotting across the valley towards the males. Upon meeting up, the males mobbed her and greeted her with many licks and wagging tails. The three looked so happy to be with each other. By now the light was gone and darkness was upon us. The three wolves walked up the mountain into the darkness, still hungry but at least they had each other. 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