For life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one.

~Kahlil Gibran

Living in this wild place you see the reality of how the death of one creature provides sustenance for others. This happens in all natural systems but here in Yellowstone it is more visible than in the forests back in North Carolina. The landscape here often provides long views that facilitates seeing the wildlife. And the wildlife community is one of the richest in terms of species in all of North America. This past week provided two examples of the interconnections of life and death that were easily observed by park visitors – an elk killed by wolves and a bison that died after apparently being struck by a vehicle. Both carcasses were easily viewed from the road that crosses the northern range (the only road open to regular vehicles in the park in winter).

I had heard reports that a fast-moving vehicle hit a few bison one evening but did not know anything about their fate. On our drive into the park we came across a crowd with scopes and cameras near the spot where that had happened. As we got closer, we saw a huge dark mound maybe 50 yards off the road with lots of ravens and magpies nearby. We pulled in and then saw a partially hidden (at least from our view point) coyote was also at the carcass. As we watched, someone mentioned there was another carcass down the road with wolves on it so off we went.

The main pullout was packed with cars and viewers so we drove by to an unpaved pullout just down the road. We could see ravens and magpies but no wolves until suddenly a black wolf stood up in the sage. Someone near us shared that the wolves had taken down a bull elk during the night and there were four of the Junction Butte pack feeding on it.

Other wolves soon became visible as they moved about the carcass. When the wolves moved, magpies and ravens would also move around fighting for a space at the dinner table.

We watched this scene for the next two hours with wolves appearing and disappearing in the sage. There were at least 4, maybe as many as six wolves feeding on the carcass at any one time with a couple having unusual color patterns on their back. Most of the wolves in this pack are black in color but note the one unusual color pattern on one wolf in this clip. These videos are taken with my iPhone and Phone Skope adapter on my spotting scope.

–Members of the Junction Butte wolf pack feeding on an elk carcass in the sagebrush

This next clip has two wolves feeding including a gray one. You will see its fur is stained red from the carcass when it raises its head up. Also note the elk antler from the carcass.

–Wolves feeding on the elk carcass

Melissa spotted some of the other pack members resting on a ridge above the valley. Then it happened – a magical moment when the wolves up on the ridge started howling (the sound was much louder than can be heard in this phone recording). Melissa captured this video clip through her scope.

–Wolves howling – turn your sound up! Video by Melissa Dowland

It was getting late so we headed back in the direction of home driving through the expanse of Lamar Valley. We soon saw four dark shapes spaced out on the snow-covered valley floor. As we got closer we could make out they were coyotes, all resting on the snow.

As we passed by the bison carcass we saw a coyote and a few ravens still working on it. We should definitely come back in the morning.

We headed out early the next morning and found a great parking spot to view the bison carcass which was already teeming with action. There are several things to note in this next video clip. There is a raven with leg bands visible at the start of the clip. I believe this bird also has an antenna coming off its back that is from a backpack harness with a GPS transmitter to track the raven. There is a long-term research study in the park investigating raven movements. Note the eagle’s reaction just before a second coyote comes in from the right. Both coyotes end up leaving the carcass with tucked tails and we witnessed a coyote chase (two against one) that happened away from the carcass. And note how quickly ravens and magpies rush in as soon as the coyotes move away.

–Scavengers at the bison carcass

The last clip shows a coyote working hard to get at meat under the tough bison hide. It is a longer clip that shows how tenacious all of these animals are as they try to get scraps of food in this winter landscape. Note the tagged raven is back. And at the end of the clip you can see a raven tugging at the coyotes tail as if to say “my turn”.

–A coyote pulls at meat scraps from under the tough bison hide

We drove by yesterday (one week from when we took this footage) and you can barely see the bison carcass unless there is a raven or something else sitting there. We’ll try to walk out in a day or two to take a look. The cycle continues…