# Something diferent- Video captures wolf, grizzly bear intera



## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

*Video captures wolf, grizzly bear interaction *
By SUSAN GALLAGHER - Associated Press - 06/26/08

AP Photo/USGS - This frame capture is from a U.S. Geological Survey video that captures remarkable interaction between a wolf and a family of three grizzly bears. The grainy footage shows two grizzly bear cubs under the watchful eye of their mother as they romp through a field and playfully tease a nearby wolf.

The remarkable scene was captured by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of a research project into the bear population in northwestern Montana. It's one of several intriguing clips recently posted on the agency's Web site that depict life inside Glacier National Park - from a bear rubbing its backside on a tree to a wolf feeding on an elk carcass.

The five-minute video of the bear cubs shows the wolf drawing close several times. At one point, a cub takes a playful swat at the wolf. Other times, the mother bear makes her presence known and "bluff charges" the wolf, stopping short of an attack.

Although seemingly playful, the underlying forces of nature are clear.

"I have no doubt that if the mom was not there and the wolf had the opportunity, it would eat the cub," said USGS research biologist Kate Kendall, in a telephone interview Wednesday.

The video was shot Aug. 10 by an unmanned, sensor-activated camera positioned for Kendall's research. The grizzlies and wolf apparently were drawn to the area by an elk carcass.

The first part of the video shows the wolf feeding on the remains alone in the morning. The three grizzlies dine on the elk that night. The next morning, their paths cross.

Kendall said the adult bear was relatively small, perhaps 150 to 200 pounds. A typical sow in Glacier National park in August weighs about 250 pounds, she said.

"Maybe that's why the wolf was not as impressed" by the bear defense and kept returning, Kendall said.

There was no indication the bears or the wolf were injured during the encounter.

Fatal wolf attacks on bear cubs have been documented, according to Carolyn Sime, gray wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. However, she knew of no instance in which a wolf has killed an adult grizzly bear.

Sime said interest surrounding the video demonstrates "America's love affair with our wildlife," adding that "we see things of ourselves in them."

Research by Kendall and her team has included gathering thousands of bear hairs and analyzing the DNA within them. The hairs are collected in barbed-wire hair traps and from trees on which bears rub.

The research produces information used in gauging recovery of grizzly bears in Glacier National Park, which have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975.

Click here to watch the USGS video. http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/research//video/K ... sswolfbear


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## Bgunit68 (Dec 26, 2006)

Thanks. That's awesome. At the end of that video was the link to a lot of wildlife remotes. http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/Kendallremotecamera.htm
they are all pretty cool. But thank you, again!


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

I don't know much about either species, but that seemed like a really big wolf or a smaller grizzly didn't it???


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

The female grizzly is fairly small, probably only about 200lbs. The wolf around 100lbs. Their dimensions are similar, but the bear being a bear has a lot more bulk to her.

All I can say for the grizzly mother is, she is very lucky there was only one of them. The wolf was probably too nervous to make an attack because the 'big one' was right there. If there was even just one distracting the bear, you'd probably have a dead cub.


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

I think food supply played a big part of the wolf not attacking. Being the wolf had gorged itself on the elk meat the night before, it was not hungry. Now if it had not eaten in a week, I think there would have been a completely different outcome for the 1 cub.

As mentioned, the sow griz was a small one (very likley a 2 YO) and her inexperience showed with it tolerating the wolf and not being more mindful of her cubs. I doubt the wolf was 100lbs, more likely in the 60-80 lb range. Their thick hair makes them look much bigger than they really are. Generally you need to get to northern Canada to see 100+lb wolves. The colder the climate the bigger they are. Very similar to the "giant" whitetails of SK vs the much smaller whitetails of the southern US. The Mexican wolves are small too being so much warmer.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

100lbs would be a normal weight for an adult, mature male in Yellowtone. Expecially in winter. 60-80 would be expected of a healthy female, or the Mexican, or Indian.

As to it being a 2 y/o, highly unlikely. Grizzly bear sow's do not reach sexual maturity until, at the earliest, 4 years old and as long as 10.


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

I stand corrected. I thought they bred at age 1.5 Did not realize they had to be 4 YO before they were capable of breeding.

But not sure then why she is so small, 200lbs for an adlut female seems small to me.


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## huntingdude16 (Jul 17, 2007)

Sexual dimorphism among bears is very noticable. Males are often twice the size of the female, and male grizzly in Glacier, if I remember right, are 400-500lbs.


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