What This Wolf Pack Showed Me About Teamwork

Last week I was in Montana, and spent a day in Yellowstone Park appreciating the beauty of this amazing place.  We were fortunate to be there in winter, when it was quiet and empty, with lots of wildlife and almost no people.  

My wife Lori and I got up at 4:30 AM in Big Sky, so we could be at the park at sunrise when the animals are most active. During the day we saw herds of bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, and bighorn sheep; sleepy bears waking up after a winter of hibernation; hot springs; box canyons; ice-falls; and caves. It’s definitely worth a visit, and not too far from Big Sky, which is also fantastic. 

Our guide James told us several wolf packs had been active in the park recently, so we were on the lookout. We were on a snowy ridgetop in the morning, looking through binoculars and spotter scopes, when we caught sight of a pack of wolves walking single-file at the edge of stand of trees. It was almost a mile away, but through our scopes we had a good view of them.  Suddenly, they stopped, then quickly spread out across the hillside. They started a slow loping run forward, as a dispersed group.  James indicated they may have spotted a possible prey, likely a deer.  It was amazing to watch the way the wolves advanced as a single unit, up and down and back and forth, speeding up and slowing down as they closed in on their prey, in a natural encircling movement. 

Here’s a video we captured through a spotter scope, picking up this scene just after the wolf pack emerged from the tree cover.  It runs less than two minutes.  You can hear Lori and my friend Randy with a bit of play-by-play, as we watch the situation unfold…

This time the prey was lucky.  Soon after the above video ended, the wolves gave up the chase.  The deer must have spotted them in time and made a hasty exit.  It was captivating to watch the scene unfold.  The natural teamwork of the wolf pack was evident throughout. While the pack is made up of up to 10 individual wolves, they always seemed to move as a unit.  In some cases, the pack travelled quietly, often single file.  In other cases, as in this video, we see how they naturally organize and often shift roles to give themselves the best chance of success. 

We can all gain some insights from these wolves, and how they work together.  Acting individually, such as the proverbial lone wolf, they often have problems catching prey.  In fact, lone wolves often go hungry and have higher mortality rates. They typically seek to join or create other packs, both for hunting and warmth and also for social reasons. Working together, as a natural team, they improve their chances of success.  And it looks like they have a better time as well (to the extent I can identify “wolf fun”).

This time, the deer was lucky.  Next time, my money is on the wolf pack.