The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone is considered by many to be a successful example of nature conservation. Among the species that have benefited from this are, among others, the grizzlies, which since then have once again had a more varied menu. The bears also repeatedly pick off dead prey from the wolves and eat the carcasses without doing anything about it. Therefore, an observation by rangers of the Yellowstone National Park in December 2021 is extraordinary: they filmed how a bear and a wolf were hunting side by side.
A video of the National Park Service shows how a large wolf pack first chases a whole herd of deer together with a grizzly. Part of the pack finally rushes after a smaller group of herbivores that he had separated from the association. In the end, the wolves succeed in killing a cow of deer. But when they start to eat, their initial hunting partner reappears - and drives the wolves before he removes the carcass himself.
This behavior, also known as kleptoparasitism, is more common between wolves and grizzlies, but the bears usually do not participate in the hunt beforehand. In the direct confrontation, the wolves can not prevail against the grizzlies, if it is not just a mother animal that carries young to be protected. The dog-like ones therefore have to wait until the bears have satisfied their hunger and troll.
The Yellowstone ecosystem is one of the few regions in the US outside of Alaska where grizzlies and wolves still coexist. However, this year almost 20 percent of the wolves were shot down there and entire packs were eliminated; in some cases the animals were killed directly outside the park boundaries. This is a serious setback for the species protection project, a spokesman for the park told the media. The states of Montana and Idaho had previously relaxed the hunting rules. Several organizations are therefore suing authorities at the state and federal level in order to tighten the protective regulations again.
