Long and Winding Road | Show Me Nature Photography

Today’s post features a lone, wild wolf that I encountered in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley a few winters ago. While driving the snowy road, this lone wolf was seen as he seemed to wander about, following a path in the snow.

Wolf behavior is very complex and I’m not sure what his goal was. Was it to find a mate? Maybe he had left, either willingly or being forced from his old pack, and now looking for a new pack to join? Whatever the purpose, it was interesting to watch him making his way up the long and winding path in the snow … and he stopped a couple of times to let out an eerily moaning howl.

Here are a couple of images of this sighting:

The above image was blown up to see the details. The image below is closer to what the human eye would see; can you spot the wolf?:

Note: Being far away, for a short time I couldn’t decide if this was a grey wolf, or a coyote. But the howl and size led me to believe this was a wolf. And if I’m incorrect, it’s still a wonderful scene in our snowy, first National Park!

• Canon 1D Mark 3 camera body
• Canon 100-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens + Canon 1.4x TC (0n first image, only)
• Handheld, with IS “On”
• ISO 200
• Aperture f/22
• Shutter 1/250 sec.
• Focal Length: Top Image = 540mm and Bottom Image = 100mm