Woman Stumbles Across Howling Wolf at Yellowstone Park

A woman driving through Yellowstone was at a stop when she spied something up close and personal to her left.  It was a wolf.  It appeared to glance at her and then went back to being its usual self.  It started howling and off in the distance there was a return call.  Give the woman credit, after a summer of stupid tourist tricks at the park, she didn’t get out and offer a challenge to the animal.  Chalk one up for being sober while visiting Yellowstone!

Not long ago, a group of hikers encountered a wolf-pack.  It appears both the canines and the people were a bit surprised.  Nobody got hurt and the two sides went on their independent paths.

All of these encounters, the good ones and the bad will likely increase.  There are simply far more people visiting national parks than at any time in the past.  More people means greater chances of coming up against wildlife.

Also, nearly everyone carries a smartphone equipped with a camera for still and moving shots.  We can surmise there were idiots trying to ride bison and taunt bears 50 years ago.  We just didn’t see many pictures.  And maybe the idiots didn’t live to tell the tale.  It could possibly have improved the human gene pool.

As a reminder, spokesman Terry Thompson at Idaho Fish and Game says the best way to observe wildlife is from a distance with binoculars.  If you want pictures, then get a really good zoom lens.  Thompson says if your presence makes the animal move, then you’re too close.  I had this happen a couple of weeks ago.  I was across a gully from some deer and when they heard the “whir” of my camera they stalked away.  I had planned to photograph them drinking from a pond.  I was at a safe distance and the wind was blowing in my direction.  Still, the sound from the camera annoyed them.