As competitive apex predator species, grizzlies and wolves only very rarely get into bloody fights, but neither are they going to be best buddies either, a wildlife biologist said.<\/p>\n
A wildlife photographer who captured an image of two wolves and\u00a0a\u00a0grizzly right next to each other, all looking perfectly calm, said it was an almost impossibly rare moment.<\/p>\n
At first glance, the photo might give the impression that the wolves and the grizzly were trying to make new friends. That wasn\u2019t the case, photographer Pete Bengeyfield told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a young bear and he was curious,\u201d as it approached the wolves, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wolves were standing there, and right as I took the photo, the bear stood up and looked at me,\u201d he said.=<\/p>\n
In most cases when grizzlies and wolves opt against fighting, it’s because the risk of injury outweighs the possible reward of defeating a rival predator, biologist Cecily Costello told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the point of it? What\u2019s the point of getting into a fight just because you run\u00a0into\u00a0each other?\u201d said Costello, the statewide grizzly research biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP).<\/p>\n
Morning Get-Together<\/p>\n
Bengeyfield said he got the photo just after\u00a0dawn\u00a0during a recent spring day in Cascade Meadows. That\u2019s just south of Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n
When he\u00a0first arrived, it was too dark to get photos, but he noticed three grizzlies, apparently a female with two nearly grown cubs.<\/p>\n
The grizzlies were feeding on a big game carcass, and four wolves were also there.<\/p>\n
The predators were all calm, he said. The wolves were interested in the carcass but also seemed willing to stay back and bide their time \u2013 rather than charging in and starting a brawl with the bears, he said.<\/p>\n
Just after there was enough light to shoot photos, one of the young bears ambled over toward the wolves, and he captured\u00a0the\u00a0photo at just the right moment.<\/p>\n
The photo depicts such a rare moment, he recently posted it on a social media site \u201cbecause I wanted to see how many people would accuse me of using AI (artificial intelligence),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Many of them did, saying Bengefyfield must\u2019ve Photoshopped the image or used AI to alter it. He adamantly denies those claims, saying it\u2019s 100% a real image.<\/p>\n
Low-Key Conflicts Common<\/p>\n
After he took the photo, the animals continued to mill around. At one point, the wolves half-heartedly \u201cchased\u201d one of the young bears, but it didn\u2019t seem like anything\u00a0serious, Bengeyfield said.<\/p>\n
Finally, the mother grizzly got fed up and dragged the carcass into the trees, out of sight, he said.<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s witnessed and photographed countless scenes of wolves and grizzlies gathering around carcasses and sometimes competing for the food.<\/p>\n
Almost all the time, the \u201cfights\u201d are little more than tussles, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all depends on the number of wolves, the age of the bear and the age of the wolves,\u201d\u00a0he said,\u00a0regarding whether a wolf pack can harass a bear away from the carcass.<\/p>\n
Most of the time, bears and wolves get along well enough, although the instance he photographed was the only time he\u2019s seen a bear walk right up to wolves, with the wolves not seeming to care, Bengeyfield said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Posturing\u2019<\/p>\n
Costello said bears, wolves and other predators avoid fighting because fights can lead to injuries. And injuries that impede a predator\u2019s ability to hunt are a death sentence in the wild.<\/p>\n
\u201cEncounters between bears and wolves happen frequently\u201d where\u00a0there\u00a0are fresh carcasses in Yellowstone, she said.<\/p>\n
Disagreements over who\u00a0gets\u00a0to eat first almost never come to conflict.<\/p>\n
And \u201ceven then, they rely more on posturing and displays of domination, more than on actual fighting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After viewing Bengeyfield\u2019s photo, she said it depicts a scene where there wasn\u2019t much tension, likely because none of the animals were desperately hungry.<\/p>\n
While bears and wolves might sometimes look to each other for cues on where food is, they\u2019ll probably never join forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are situations where people have seen small predators following each other around, like coyotes and badgers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She was referencing instances when badgers and coyotes\u00a0team up<\/a>\u00a0to catch prairie dogs.<\/p>\n Such direct cooperation between apex predators like wolves\u00a0and bears\u00a0is highly unlikely, she said.<\/p>\n