A wolf returns to a carcass to feed as ravens scatter.

It was early in the month, December 7th or 8th as Bob Landis recalls. He was out shooting wolves, as he often does in the winter. He spotted three wolves about 400 yards distant and recorded this video footage. Since Bob is a professional videographer, his skills and equipment permitted him to bring the wolves up-close for us.

At first a gray-black mature female heads across the snow with a young black female following close behind. The mature female worked its way across the Lamar River pretty easily, although cautiously, in order to avoid falling through the thin ice. Bob mentioned seeing the wolves swim across the river in winter on many occasions so he believes that they are far more concerned about getting trapped under the ice than they are of the cold.

The young black female is very nervous when she reaches the ice and she moves very slowly back and forth looking for the best place to cross over to the carcass that is in the middle of the partially frozen river. The mature female moves slowly but methodically across the ice, jumping open patches of river with great skill. When she reaches the carcass, she chases the ravens from it and begins her feast.

In the meanwhile, a gray male wolf has come up behind the young black female. He passes the black wolf as he crosses the river and she still seems unable to understand that all she has to do is follow the safe route that two mature wolves have demonstrated to her.

As the second gray wolf finds its way to the carcass, the young female finally finds her way across the ice after nearly falling into the river once. No sooner does she reach the carcass than something disturbs all three of them and they move quickly back off the river. [Learn more about Yellowstone's wolves.]