Yellowstone National Park Wolf Expedition
Back In Black
Posted by jennifer on November 05, 2007.
"As I study wolves in the wild and get more and more into my research, I have been able to apply their communication style to dogs thus giving me unbelievable success and knowledge into who these creatures truly are. I now base a lot of my work treating dogs like wolves and less like dogs. Quite honestly by teaching my clients this language, it has truly bridged the gap into solving behavior problems and the results have been remarkable. These domestic animals sitting in our living rooms want nothing more than to be part of a pack, work and hunt for food, play and have leadership just like their ancestors do. When this takes place, psychologically I have seen dogs in their happiest moments and that's why I do the work I do- to see the light sparkle in their eyes and freedom in their soul." - Jennifer McCarthy
(From a recent press release...)
O.k. Guys- Now that I'm back from Yellowstone which means back to work, I will pick up where I left off by answering a dog question tomorrow. Maybe it will be yours! I guess you'll have to stop by again to find out ;-)
I'm so glad to have had a couple of days off because everytime I travel (especially into the outdoors), I have tons of stuff to put away, laundry to do, etc. Not to mention the phone calls & e-mails to return when I'm without a cell. signal.
I will be in Colorado until Los Angeles next month but will take a brief trip down to Mission: Wolf to converse about Yellowstone, see some old friends and visit the wolves in winter. In the mean time, classes and lessons are in full swing and everyone is getting a good dose of wolf education to apply to their domestic dogs.
So much else is happening career wise and it's very exciting. Keep stopping by to hear the latest updates and news!
Have a great week~
- Jennifer
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Life, Wolves, Dogs & Coyotes...
Posted by jennifer on November 05, 2007.
Hi Everyone~
Where do I start when it comes to my latest adventure in the wild? Let's see... Sandrine & I camped out in prime Grizzley & wolf country for 5 nights. We were actually in the territory of one of the largest wolf packs in Yellowstone- the Slough Creek wolf pack. This pack includes 20 wolves. To give you an idea of how close we were to them, not far from our tents were two Elk carcuss's they had eaten. One was realatively fresh. There were tracks & wolf scat all over the place and as we hiked around, we ran face to face into 3 bison coming over a hill, saw many coyotees and a Grizzley had recently been spotted in the area.
Everytime I do these adventures in winter camping, I always learn something new. This time I learned never to put my tent next to a creek in the winter as the humidity made the temperature about 10 degrees cooler. To give you an idea of how cold it was, my temperature gage got down to 12 degrees. When I woke up every morning, not only were my boots frozen but mice had a nice little house to sleep in at night. There was mice poop inside my boots so I used my pen to check for any overnight guests. Next time, I will block my boots off from visitors in the winter- lol.
Sandrine & I woke up every morning at 6 a.m. and the cold makes it very hard to get out of your sleeping bag but we did it to watch the wolves.
Much of what we captured on video was unbelievable footage and I just hope the zoom on my camera picked up things in detail. What I learned was beyond my expectations. It's night and day to observe wolves in their natural element vs. working with wolves in captivity. The wolves looked unbelievably healthy with muscle and winter coats and the pack behavior was amazing. This trip has certainly given me so many new ideas to apply into my work with domestic dogs.
We were very lucky to have met Rick McIntre- a leading wolf expert at Yellowstone. For the past seven years, he has not missed one day of observing these packs from morning until night. I think if he had night vision goggles, he might be out there right now- Ha!
I think the most incredible things to witness were the wolves playing with each other and eating elk. It's one thing to watch stuff on video but to see it unfold in person gives you so much more insight. There were things I saw that I had never seen on any video or tv show before- it was amazing to say the least.
We had other things to deal with such as constantly carring bear spray, dealing with the snow, getting across the freezing cold water in the creek to saw dry firewood and roaming about Yellowstone to just see it's natural beauty.
For now, it's one trip down but I will be on my next adventure in January or Febuary so stay tuned for more... It will either be Paris to work with the SPA (like our SPCA), The International Wolf Center or another winter camping trip to Yellowstone where the temperature at that time gets down to 42 below zero. Either way, more trips are scheduled as I continue my two year mission into wild canid behavior.
Hope you're well and staying warm!
- Jennifer
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Hello From Gardiner, Montanna
Posted by amy on October 30, 2007.
Hey Everyone- (It's me Jennifer!)
First of all, just wanted to say a big thank you to Amy for updating everyone on Yellowstone. We made a trip into town today to get some supplies as the weather has turned from good to bad with rain and lots of wind. By tomorrow, we should have snow on the ground... Sandrine and I just finished taping some VERY rare footage of the Slough Creek wolf pack eating an elk carcass in a creek. On top of that, some other wolves tried to get a piece of the action but were unsuccessful. A bald eagle sat high on a tree waiting for leftovers and the magpies were very bothersome to the wolves eating who chased them off as if they were annoyed. Earlier, we captured another grizzly on film and have been face to face with several coyotes.
Amy- you got to upload some of those pics from my camera phone for these guys!
I'm at a small cafe in town that has internet access while we recharge our battery packs. Carring all the camera equipment from location to location is a pain but what we've captured in one word is priceless... We've obsevered so much pack behavior- SO MUCH, it's been incredible.
Everything else is going well- tomorrow we will relocate to another location to set up camp. For now, we are sleeping in the territory of one of the largest wolf packs here at Yellowstone. Although it's hibernating season, the bears are still out and about searching for food and are often spotted very close to our camp.
More to come as I get a faint signal to send Amy text messages while roaming. Stay tuned and lots of love from the woods...
- Jennifer
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Day 3: Yellowstone National Park Wolf Expedition
Posted by amy on October 30, 2007.
I'm getting some great footage up here in Yellowstone! I was able to capture a grizzly chasing off an adult wolf howling over to a beautiful gray yearling that was separated from the pack. An adult female howled with her tail lowered showing signs it was a subordinate member. This could have been quite possibly an Agate pack which equals 2 black wolves and 3 gray wolves (timber wolves).
The female subordinate appeared frustrated that her howls did not get the attention of the yearling. She remained on top of the large rock howling until an enormous grizzley came in from behind and chased her away.
Global warming has played a major role in the slow deterioration of Yellowstone National Park. It's easy to observe the bark beatles destroying trees, drought and lack of berries growing among the land. Without berries, the bears search for food elsewhere thus leading to increased bear attacks on humans. Don't worry I have my bear spray! There is no word yet on the effects of wolves and the elk population. However, Aspen trees are thriving and wolves are keeping heards in good shape during their hunts for food. The elk appears healthy because wolf pack territories are so close to one another, so food is easily accessible to both. The only real killer to wolves is their own.
That's all for today... stay tuned for more (via text to Amy).
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Day 2: Yellowstone National Park Wolf Expedition
Posted by amy on October 29, 2007.
Early this morning, I saw a pack of wolves and was able to get some video footage of them really close before they disappeared. Another pack was later discovered near a ridge chasing elk. Suprisingly, the wolves do not bother the bison. A third pack was discovered playing together as a pack on a mountain top. The alpha male howled and commanded the wolves to leave the mountain with only one stragler that left without the pack.
Later in the evening, we hiked up in the back country, carrying our bear spray since there are a lot of grizzlies out and about. During the hike, we ran into three bison running up a hill that we were descending. We nearly hit one another going down!
Observing wolf behavior is like nothing I've ever experienced before. This journey is beyond my wildest dreams it's SO incredible! So far, I've observed Agate and Druid packs, captured wolf footage, observed wolf tracks in the back country and have seen many coyotes. One picture I will share upon my return is one of a big horn sheep drinking from a stream. I was also able to observe the big horns fighting.
Tonight it's a heat wave! A whopping 30 degrees and the sound of the rushing creek next to the tent will put me right to sleep. Stay tuned for more updates...
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DAY 1: Yellowstone National Park Wolf Expedition
Posted by amy on October 27, 2007.
DAY 1: Yellowstone National Park 10/27/07 - High 40° F | Low 23° F
My "partner of the wild" Sandrine and I arrived at 3:00 am into the Yellowstone National Park South Gate. While driving through Yellowstone to set up camp, we spotted three coyotes, several large bison, elk, deer, and prong horn sheep! We had to set up our tent next to a stream since we couldn't find any other camping spots at that hour. I didn't let the freezing cold 15 degree weather and lack of sleep dampen my spirits into this new journey. Not wasting any time, we headed out at 6:00 am in search of wild wolves with our Guide Rick.
Rick had an antenna to the radio collars attached to the wild wolves within Yellowstone. This allowed me an amazing opportunity to see a pack of 17 wolves and 2 grizzly bears through a spotting scope after a fresh kill. Um... one word: priceless. I was actually able to witness the wolves behavior as a grizzly chased the entire pack off of the carcass. This life-altering experience to observe their behavior in the wild has been unbelievable and it's only day 1!! Now I need to grab some firewood to keep warm.
Stay tuned for more updates friends...