A man named Tony Schoonen is the Chief of Staff at the Boone and Crocket Club. During a visit to this beloved national park, they spotted two animals going head-to-head. Thankfully for us, he captured it all on camera! An alert elk can be seen standing in a rushing river as the footage begins. Little did it know, a gray wolf was nearby, ready to make a move. Elks spend a lot of time in water, whether it’s to relax, cool off, or hydrate their massive bodies.
Size Comparison
Elk bulls, which are adult males, reach their greatest size at age 7. A male elk could weigh about 700 to 1100 pounds at maturity and stands an average of 5 feet tall at the shoulders. Cows, or female elk, weigh around 500 and 600 pounds and have an average height at the shoulder of 4.5 feet. This doesn’t seem to be a fair match between the two animals. A wolf’s body is about three to five feet long, while its tail is typically one to two feet long. Males and females normally weigh 70 to 145 pounds and 60 to 100 pounds, respectively. Moreover, two-thirds of the United States comprised the gray wolf’s historic range. With elks weighing so much more than wolves, one could assume they’d overpower them in a fight. In the footage uploaded by the Boone and Crocket Club Youtube channel, this grey wolf goes from being camouflaged in the brush near the river to attacking the elk in just seconds. Hesitant to jump in the rushing river with the much larger animal, the wolf eventually takes a leap of faith. It’s unclear why the elk didn’t leave during the several-minute struggle of the wolf getting in the water. The ferocious wolf jumps on the back of the elk as water splashes around them. Leaving the nearby tourists feeling helpless. Wolves hunt by striding around, sniffing out prey, and then evaluating it for weaknesses. They are a long-legged predator capable of traveling hundreds of kilometers in a few days. Between 5 and 15% of the time they see an elk, they kill it. As the fight continues, one commenter states, “The tenacity in survival. That water had to be unbearably frigid, yet both beasts endured it to try to stay alive.” Eventually, the elk is about chin-deep in the river as the wolf continues to pace the shoreline. We’re unsure of the final outcome, but are rooting for the poor elk.
Is This Normal Behavior?
While taking down a huge beast like an elk is not an every day event for wolves, a hungry pack will take every opportunity to obtain food, especially when sustenance is hard to come by in the winter months. Predators will tend to seek out small, weak, or elder members of their prey. Why make it any harder or dangerous than needed, right? It makes sense to find the easiest target and deliver dinner for the pack!
Up Next:
Want to see more wolves? We figured! Check out these articles.
Watch a Wolf Chase a Bear in Completely Normal Day in Alaska. Just your average Alaskan wildlife doing their thing!Watch A Wolf Pack Emerge From Nowhere To Fight A Huge Grizzly. Wow! These wolves appear in a flash to swarm a big old grizzly.Australian Man Fights Off Great White in Terrifyingly Close Encounter. Another great, terrifying battle!Watch a Hyena Casually Walk Into a Lion Pride and Immediately Regret It. This silly decision may be this hyena’s last.
