Common Ground

View of the grizzly through my Vortex binoculars

We’ve hunted for thousands of years and it’s something other animals do on a daily basis. However, it doesn't always go as planned...

I spent the past few weeks camping through the Tetons and Yellowstone with my family. We were able to witness a lot of pretty amazing things but one particular thing sticks out in my mind...

On one of the first nights in the park, we spotted a few wolves far off in a valley filled with bison. We watched as the wolves carefully approached a lone bull and quickly retreat as they realized he was a heckuva lot bigger than them. They eventually moved on to a small group of elk cows and calves. The bigger wolf moved up the valley, to approach from above, while the other wolf lingered down below the elk. It was amazing to watch as the top wolf tried to push the elk toward his buddy down below several times - unsuccessfully.

Finally, things lined up just right and it seemed as though we were about to finally witness a successful hunt. Positioning was perfect - this was it. Suddenly, a grizzly popped out of the willows, within 50 yards of the hunt (not sure how none of us - wolves and elk included - missed him). The elk scattered in the wrong direction. The hunt was blown. We watched as the larger wolf walked right up to the grizz and sniffed him nose to nose. The grizz sat down and seemed pretty unbothered by the whole event.

Having been an active participant in my fair of blown hunts, I felt for the wolves. Things happen that are out of your control. The hunt gets blown and you get to watch your fresh meat run away still very much full of life. Good to see I’m not the only one.

- James