Lonely Yellowstone wolf cries out in surreal dawn encounter
A Yellowstone National Park visitor spent Christmas morning following a lone wolf as the animal howled plaintively into the snowy wilderness.
“I don’t know if he’s a pack member or an outside male looking for love,” Deby Dixon, who captured the accompanying footage, told FTW Outdoors. “Judging from the size of his tracks, I feel certain it was a male.”
Dixon, a nature photographer sho specializes in Yellowstone wildlife, described the surreal encounter as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Surprisingly, the wolf did not abandon the road as Dixon followed from a safe distance; the animal seemed to care only about receiving a response from other wolves.
The wolf might have become separated from the Wapiti Lake Pack, which was observed in the same area a day earlier.
Wolf sightings are not uncommon in Yellowstone, especially during the winter when the distant animals are easy to spot as they travel across snow. But close encounters involving lone wolves crying out for others are extraordinary.
RELATED: Yellowstone wolves run down elk in rare ‘circle of life’ footage
Dixon said she was pleased that two groups behind her also enjoyed the experience.
“The roads were tough and I had passed a tour van and a truck before spotting some fresh wolf tracks on the other side of the road,” Dixon recalled. “I followed them for two or three miles before spotting the wolf.
“The folks in the truck were from Georgia and they said that they let me pass thinking I might lead them to wolves. They were excited. While following slowly behind the wolf, I was aware of trying not to ruin the sighting for them, especially the tour bus, while not disturbing the wolf.
“In this situation, I was excited to be sharing the experience with others but also aware that they couldn’t see him as well as I could and my staying well back wasn’t helping that. So, when the wolf turned and went past us , it was just the icing on the experience.”