The North American grizzly bear has been observed cunningly mingling with a pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park for several weeks, possibly to conveniently steal their prey.
(Video: Joshua Welter).
Joshua Welter, a guide for the tour company Yellowstone Wildlife Profiles, spotted a large pack of gray wolves south of the road running through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA, last October. However, these wolves had an unexpected guest in their midst: a North American grizzly bear. Welter and the tourists were astonished as the grizzly and the wolves lingered together for a few minutes before departing as a group. “We have never encountered such interaction,” National Geographic quoted Welter on February 20.
According to Welter, the bear made several appearances around the wolf pack in the following two weeks. This is an unusually long time for a grizzly to remain with a pack of wolves, according to Clayton Lamb, a scientist at the University of British Columbia and the research organization Biodiversity Pathways. In many instances, wolves will chase off grizzly bears if they get too close to the pack, or grizzly bears will pursue wolves that enter their territory. It appears that the bear had become an honorary member of the pack, but in reality, food was likely the motivation behind this unusual alliance.
Bears sometimes steal prey from wolves if they are extremely hungry, according to Daniel MacNulty, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Utah. “I have witnessed this type of interaction between a large wolf pack and a bear. It seems like the wolves were playing with the bear or vice versa, but I believe there were benefits for both the bear and the wolf pack,” MacNulty stated.
With both species being abundant in Yellowstone, grizzly bears and wolves interact more frequently than people might think. In Yellowstone, grizzly bears are more commonly seen in the fall as they roam in search of food to consume as much as possible before hibernation. During a period known as hyperphagia, bears take risks to gather more calories, such as stealing food from wolves, according to Aimee Tallian, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.
Interaction between grizzly bears and wolf packs.
The wolves may also weigh the risks when deciding whether to chase off the grizzly, considering the potential injury to pack members. Hungry bears can steal food from other animals, including ravens and mountain lions. Sometimes, they even lie on top of a carcass to assert ownership. According to Lamb, grizzly bears are scavengers and opportunistic feeders. If a bear in Yellowstone follows a pack of wolves, it essentially acts like a parasite to the entire group.
Tallian is the lead author of a 2022 study in Yellowstone, which found that the presence of bears can reduce the predation rates of wolf packs, as wolves must wait to see if the grizzly will leave behind any leftover meat after stealing prey. Typically, this is less dangerous for wolves than attempting to hunt other prey, as they could get injured if the target is an elk or caribou. It is rare for a grizzly bear to linger around a wolf pack for several weeks, but Yellowstone provides the perfect environment for such behavior.
