Winter Guardians
Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming
The Wapiti Lake Pack numbered over twenty wolves when this picture was taken, making it one of the largest packs ever observed in the wild. The social bonds and structure of wolf packs are strong, uniting them together as they hunt for prey and defend their territory. Observing and photographing wild wolves is a challenge, much less capturing multiple animals socializing in a pristine wilderness setting. While traversing the Park in the early evening, wolf tracks on the road led me to the entire pack en masse on the vast expanse of the frozen Yellowstone Lake. The color variation of their coats stands out against the snowy backdrop as they play together and keep a keen eye on the surrounding wilderness
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