This is the moment a wildlife photographer caught the extremely rare encounter between a grizzly bear and a wolf.
Taken in Yellowstone National Park, Seth Royal Kroft heard that a large grizzly had k.i.lled an elk, and so he hoped more animals would be involved.
So he set the alarm for 2.am and arrived on the scene at 6.am, still in the dark hoping to catch some action.
After a short while, a gray wolf walked up to the grizzly bear, most likely after picking up the scent from its meal.
The sun began to rise over the river as the mist cleared, and Seth was blessed with some of the most amazing photos ever.
Despite spending time in the mountains, often photographing wildlife, this was the first time he had come into close contact with a wolf.
“It was fascinating. I’ve encountered black bears while camping many times over the years, but they’re relatively harmless in most situations,” he said.
“I only met grizzly bears a few times and only in Yellowstone Park. All of that said, I will still regularly carry bear spray when hiking in a country with many potential bears. ”
Seth grew up in Montana, surrounded by wildlife, and so his photography journey began spontaneously:
“I just take pictures of any animal I come across. Looking back my early wildlife photos were terrible, but that’s how you learn and grow. Only recently did I actually buy a ‘wildlife’ lens. ”
Neither the grizzly bear nor the wolf seemed to mind each other, with the wolf leaving and returning a few times over the next few hours.
“With such a large size, the grizzly knew that a single wolf was no threat. The wolf seemed to have a mischievous, playful demeanor.”
“As if it were a game. It would slowly come as close as possible to the elk carcass, gaining only a few inches from it before the bear would stir slightly and caused the wolf to quickly retreat.”
Apparently, the wolf tried to approach the bear for food four times before disappearing back into the woods empty-handed.
All image credits go to Seth Royal Kroft; check out his Instagram for more incredible wildlife photos.
Gray wolves and bears have coexisted peacefully across a large swath of North America for a long time.
Most interactions usually involve food sources, just like this one. They can be a bit aggressive at times, but usually they are pretty calm.
Check out the full encounter below:
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