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Canids (Canidae) & Hyaenids (Hyaenidae)
Wolf Predation
Wolf Predation
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Wolf Predation
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The Killing of a Bull Muskox by a Single Wolf
A wolf approaching the carcass of the bull muskox he had killed:  *This image is copyright of its original author "Although there are many reports in the literature describing successful attacks of the wolf (Canis lupus) on muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), the following observation of a single, male wolf attacking and killing a lone bull muskox is, to my knowledge, unique. The killing was observed from a distance of approximately 1 mile, using a 15 x 60 spotting scope, during a study of the behaviour of muskoxen on Bathurst Island, Northwest Territories." Read the full account here: https://vk.com/doc-68054567_442539135?ha...13687f4c1b
Bison's last stand against Yellowstone wolf
*This image is copyright of its original author Tourists, scientists and a host of wildlife photographers got a rare front-row seat to a compelling wildlife drama this week at Yellowstone National Park. On Sunday, a large male wolf from the Canyon Pack was seen stalking an injured or sick female bison. By Monday, the pair were locked in a deadly standoff in a meadow about 200 yards from one of the park's busy roads. Dozens of people gathered to watch as the wolf patiently but repeatedly approached the bison, probing for weakness and looking for a response. The bison shook its head or snorted at the wolf, causing it to retreat to a nearby stand of trees. After a time the bison would lower itself to the ground to rest, bringing out the wolf for another foray, with the intent to exhaust the bison. When successful, the bison was able to get to its feet and ward off the wolf. *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author By late Monday, the bison's ability to fend off the attacks was waning, and the wolf was able to attack the bison's hindquarters for brief moments. Ultimately, the wolf would satisfy himself that the bison was too weak to defend itself and likely will call in his pack. Although Yellowstone's wolf packs do predate bison, this attack was rare. Bison make up 5% of wolves' diet, the bulk of which is elk. A large crowd was enthralled. Some were horrified at the inevitability of it all. One family ushered their children back to their car. Another man shrugged, "It's nature." https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greensp...stone.html https://www.yellowstonegate.com/2012/08/...llowstone/  (08-13-2021, 08:13 PM)Apex Titan Wrote: Bison's last stand against Yellowstone wolf This wolf was the second ranking male of the Canyon Pack and he was known as "Limper" by wolfwatchers. He was born in the Mollie's Pack.
The Surprising Relationship Between Wolves & Bears
 *This image is copyright of its original author It may come as a surprise to many that wolves eat bears. This is a problem that seems to be growing anywhere the two species overlap. My 18-year-old son Dawson sat in a stand beside me as we watched a medium sized bear feed at the bait. It was the first day of my bear hunt in Ontario a few years ago, and Dawson was filming the hunt for me as he often did. The bear was not one I would consider shooting on the first day of the hunt. Suddenly, the bear stood up and looked into the bush, then spun around and rocketed out of the area as if he had been shot out of a canon. Dawson reached for the camera and turned it on. He’s filmed enough bear hunts to know that when the small bear leaves in a hurry, there’s a good chance a bigger bear is about to make an appearance. But I was conflicted as I watched the bear streak out of the area. I’d seen a lot of bears around baits and I had never seen one leave in such a state of total panic. A moment later, the issue came into clear focus as a timber wolf trotted in and looked over the area. He sniffed around a little, made a half circle around the bait site, then left on the trail of that 200-pound bear. It wasn’t my first introduction to the fear that wolves put into bears, but it was a graphic one. As wolf numbers have increased across North America in the last couple decades, their effect on deer populations has generated a lot of attention among sportsman’s groups and in the media. No doubt there are a lot of teeth in the woods, and wolves have significantly reduced deer numbers in many areas, but there are other animals suffering at the rise in wolf populations and they haven’t been getting the attention they deserve. The black bear is a prime example. Many bear hunters, guides and outfitters are getting a wake-up call about how the high numbers of wolves and low numbers of deer are affecting the amount of predation on black bears. On my bear baits in Minnesota, I have seen active bear baits go completely dead when wolves move into the area. Wolves will eat some types of bear bait, but that’s not the real reason they hang around. Wolves eat bears. And what better place to find a bear than the high-percentage area in the vicinity of a bear bait? I have long suspected that wolves could be a real problem for bear populations, in fact I have seen wolf scat full of bear fur on several occasions, but in speaking with biologists, none could verify that it’s common for wolves to kill and eat bears. In fact, most biologists are very reluctant to say anything that would cast wolves in a bad light. Considering the emotionally-charged political climate surrounding wolves, many people within the game departments of states where wolf populations are at issue just seem to avoid the subject. "Wolves hang around bear baits not just for the bait, but because they know it’s a high-odds place to get a meal of black bear meat. Once the wolves arrive, baits often go dead as the bears abandon them."...  *This image is copyright of its original author Woodsmen, trappers, hunters and outfitters in areas with high bear-wolf interactions aren’t so inhibited. Mike Foss, a long time bear hunting outfitter in Northern Wisconsin is frustrated by the lack of understanding about how much effect wolves have on bear populations. He has come across the remains of bears killed by wolves in the forests and he feels the problem is increasing. “Not only is our deer population having a difficult time rebounding from dismal numbers caused in part by wolf predation over the past decade,” he says, “but some bear guides, including me, believe our great bear population is literally under attack, specifically cubs and younger, immature bears.” He claims that much of the predation takes place in the winter where wolves pull bears out of the dens and eat them. He cites a fellow guide who found evidence of wolf predation at three bear dens late last winter. And he’s not alone. Tom Ainsworth, long-time bear outfitter in the Duck Mountains of western Manitoba says it’s common in his area as well. He puts out bear bait on snow machine in late winter and he’s noted where wolves have killed bears on several occasions. He says wolves will kill bears whenever they have the right opportunity. One of his guides is a veteran wolf trapper who claims to have come across many cases where wolves have caught bears in their dens, drug them out and killed them. Wolves will also target cubs all year whenever they are far enough from a climbable tree. Hunter examines a carcass of a bear killed and eaten by wolves:  *This image is copyright of its original author In that part of Manitoba, trappers and hunters target wolves all winter which helps keep the problem somewhat under control. But in Wisconsin, the lack of opportunities to control wolf populations along with mild winters has created a perfect storm for high predation rates and many bear enthusiasts are becoming alarmed. There are more cameras in the woods than at any time in the past, and instances of interactions between bears and wolves are on the rise. The advent of phones with cameras has added to the documentation of wolf predation on bears. Blogs, social media and YouTube have examples with photos and videos show evidence of bears being pulled from the dens and eaten by wolves. But are the cameras just catching what has been common all along, or are the numbers of bears being killed by wolves on the rise? Mike Foss feels that wolves are targeting bears more and more. “Is there now such a predator-prey imbalance—not helped by federal judicial protection of the wolf—that deer numbers can’t recover and other prey, including the black bear, is providing an alternative food source? I believe that is probable.” https://www.bucksbullsbears.com/2018/09/...ves-bears/
Wolves Attack Healthy, Mature Bull at Yellowstone
 *This image is copyright of its original author People tend to have arguments about the prey wolves choose, and here is a recent group of pictures taken at Yellowstone National Park, by Thomas Szajner Photography, that shows wolves don't only go after the sick, the weak and the young. They are occasionally known to be sport killers. They love the thrill of the chase and the kill– even when they aren’t after food–as is shown when they leave surplus kills after the hunt. Is it just me, or do these wolves appear to be smiling? This mature, Yellowstone bull surely doesn’t look weak…or sick:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author https://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2016/01/wolves-attack/ (09-22-2021, 05:36 PM)Apex Titan Wrote: Wolves Attack Healthy, Mature Bull at Yellowstone Citing an hunting magazine from the "ill-period" montana where wolf hunters will get a bounty for each wolf killed supposedly in the hunt says something about your sources. Distributing images of Thomas Szajner that were published in National Geographic is quite questionnable in itself. These being highly copyrighted. This elk might seems healthy, but it is possible that the impedment of snow and some health issues or problems that is hidden from the human eye (like dental decay, bone marrow, etc etc) can lead these wolves to select an individual like this one. Quote:People tend to have arguments about the prey wolves choose, and here is a recent group of pictures taken at Yellowstone National Park, by Thomas Szajner Photography, that shows wolves don't only go after the sick, the weak and the young. They are notorious for being sport killers. They love the thrill of the chase and the kill–even when they aren’t after food–as is shown when they leave many of their kills after killing. Is it just me, or do these wolves appear to be smiling? "They are notorious for being sport killers" - False | Human are "They love the thrill of the chase and the kill - even when they aren't after food" - False | Each hunt has an risk of injury and even deaths, depending of the prey. Wolves do not take such risks. "As is shown when they leave many of their kills after killings" - Non-Logical Idea | Wolf returns to killed preys and also provide food for an enormous amount of scavengers. By the way : That elk wasn't killed by them. It survived. 
Any posts with personal attacks will be deleted, irrespective of other contents.
@TheNormalGuy while the sources of @Apex Titan were indeed somewhat dubious, unnecessary killings do happen from time to time by many predator species. It's a part of nature. Stray dogs retain that tendency & them killing wildlife for fun is a big problem in Asia. The post remains, but edited. Please disagree on this & move onwards. Thank you for reporting though. 
Here is some Wolf predation on Ungulates of the Soviet Union.
Wolf predation on Red Deer was the significant cause of death in many of these regions.  *This image is copyright of its original author Here is the ages of Red deer killed by Wolves in the Soviet Union.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Wild Boar, while slightly less favored, did make up a good portion of Wolf diet in Kyzyl-Agach Reserve, Azerbaijan.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Wolves predated on mostly young or sub-adult Boar.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author source: Jędrzejewski, Wlodzimierz, et al. "Wolf predation and snow cover as mortality factors in the ungulate community of the Bialowieża National Park, Poland." Oecologia 90.1 (1992): 27-36. 
Images & Information from The Way of the Wolf by Dr L. David Mech (world-renowned expert on wolves)
"Usually it is some defect in the prey's defense system that enables wolves to succeed. In this case, a large, old buck has probably weakened from fighting with other bucks and from paying more attention to defending his females during the rutting season than to gaining enough sustenance. During the autumn rut, old males of many species form one of the main prey items of wolves."  *This image is copyright of its original author "As with other prey, most often the Dall sheep killed by wolves are old adults or young of the year. In the scene above, an eleven-year-old ram that appeared to be healthy was taken. Witnesses to the feeding were heard to actually proclaim what a healthy sheep it was. A closer look, however, revealed that the ram had severe arthritis of its jaw joint, probably greatly affecting its ability to eat properly and maintain its strength and energy."  *This image is copyright of its original author "Moose, one of the wolf's largest prey, can best defend themselves by standing their ground and defying the pack. The wolves often maneuver around their standing prey, perhaps sizing up the animal or trying to detect any weaknesses. Meanwhile, the prey acts belligerent and tries to intimidate the wolves by charging and striking at them with its hooves. These wolves tried for five minutes to attack this moose, but failing to get it running, they left and continued their hunt for other moose they could catch."  *This image is copyright of its original author "Sometimes moose run instead of standing their ground, and in all such cases, if the wolves are close enough, they give chase and try to catch and kill the animal. However, most often, even in these cases, the moose are able to lash out at the wolves with their hooves and keep them from attacking. The chase may continue for a mile or more until finally the wolves either attack or abandon the chase."  *This image is copyright of its original author "When wolves do attack moose, they tend to grab their quarry by the rump or flanks and slow it down. Eventually, an alpha wolf dashes around and tries to grab the moose by the nose. If it succeeds, the moose stops and tries to dislodge this wolf; meanwhile, the other pack members continue to rip at its rump and flanks and bring down the prey."  *This image is copyright of its original author
Wolf (Canis lupus) predation and scavenging of reintroduced bison (Bison bison): a hallmark of ecological restoration to boreal food webs
Abstract While it is well documented that wolves (Canis lupus) hunt and scavenge bison (Bison bison) from some long-established populations, such ecological interactions are not well known for most small, reintroduced populations in the boreal forest. Indeed, predation or scavenging of reintroduced bison in the boreal forest is rarely reported. Yet, documenting instances of bison killed or consumed is imperative to understanding the integration of reintroduced populations into local food webs and ecosystems. Such observations also indicate that reintroduced bison may be under selective pressure from their key preda-tor. We compiled 20 verifiable observations of wolves hunting or scavenging bison from three reintroduced populations in northwestern Canada. We report the first confirmed observations of wolves feeding on bison from the ‘Nahanni’ and ‘Pink Mountain’ populations. We also report new records of wolves hunting or scavenging bison from the ‘Aishihik’ popula-tion. Where sex was known, most (14 of 17) bison consumed were females and 17 of 20 were adults (either sex). Contrary to other studies, we found that 7 of 20 bison consumed by wolves were aged individuals. It took 19–50years since bison were reintroduction before verifiable observations of wolf–bison interactions emerged for these populations, indicating that wolves were likely slow to view reintroduced bison as prey and incorporate them into their diets. These observations are of value mainly because they provide unequivocal evidence that these reintroduced bison populations are becoming integrated into local food webs and beginning to be under selective pressure by their main predator, both of which are hallmarks of ecological restoration. Fig. 1 Photographs of bison (Bison bison) eaten by wolves (Canis lupus) in southwestern Yukon, Canada (Aishihik population). A A yearling on 29 January 2022, and B an aged adult male on 22 February 2020. The blood and broken branches in the lower panel confrm wolf predation. Photographs by Russel Oborne (A) and David Bakica (B)  *This image is copyright of its original author Fig. 2 Photograph of three wolves (Canis lupus) chasing an adult female bison (Bison bison) on 7 March 2011 in southwestern Yukon, Canada (Aishihik population). Photograph by Lorne Larocque  *This image is copyright of its original author Fig. 3 Photographs of an adult male bison (Bison bison) eaten by wolves (Canis lupus) in northeastern British Columbia (Nahanni population) on 26 January 2022. A The kill site viewed from a helicopter, and B the carcass. Photographs by Thomas Jung  *This image is copyright of its original author Wolf (Canis lupus) predation and scavenging of reintroduced bison (Bison bison): a hallmark of ecological restoration to boreal food webs
"On our most recent mountain lion hunt, a guide found this young bear carcass that appears to have been killed by wolves. All that remained was the inside-out hide, skull (separated lower mandible), spine, and one foot."
Remains of the black bear killed and eaten by wolves:  *This image is copyright of its original author According to a man named Andy Perry, wolves quite often kill and eat black bears in British Columbia too. He claims to have seen it first-hand, 3 times now. In one case, the wolves killed an adult sow and her cubs:  *This image is copyright of its original author https://www.facebook.com/theflyingbranch...965498874/
Grey wolf with his elk kill:
 *This image is copyright of its original author
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