Some Sad News and Lessons Learned

As a biologist, I have observed that natural areas now exist as disjointed fragments and large predators such as grizzlies and wolves need more space than what can be provided for them in a park such as Yellowstone. Home ranges for these animals can extend for large areas and wolf populations are spreading to areas not covered by the park. There are studies that suggest that connecting habitat fragments can improve the genetics of animal populations. Creating a buffer area around the park that maintains habitat quality and enables roaming animals to be protected from hunting pressure may actually stabilize animal populations. I would like to keep this discussion more about photography and the science and biology of maintaining stable predator populations.

The photos presented in this NY Times Science article revealed the interesting features of the Lamar River Valley pack and provide with some information as to why Yellowstone is too small to comfortably contain all of these animals. And without those photos, the impact of the story is less noticed. Although this article covers a tragic and sad topic think about how you as a photographer can play a role in helping to spread the word about the problem of declining plant and animal populations.

When I was in Costa Rica in 1985, my friend and I assisted two photographers that were filming the frog episode for the PBS show Nature. We helped them with transporting their gear into Monte Verde. They let me photograph some of the native frogs including the golden toad. I have a single slide of a blurry bright orange toad that managed to jump while being photographed. I am hanging onto that slide because golden toads went extinct a few years ago never to be seen again. Exposure to exotic fungal pathogens, changes in microhabitat quality from a strong El Niño are popular hypotheses concerned with this species decline. The take home lesson here is that nature photography tells the story of the natural features that are disappearing from the world. Let your pictures tell the story so that others can develop an appreciation of the natural world.

In summary, an out of focus, motion blurred orange toad is why I keep taking pictures and there’s always a story behind every picture…Jim

ps.: If any NPN photographers have a photo of Spitfire, please feel free to post them. Thank you.

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I shared some of my images of 926F recently on my Facebook page. These moments all occurred during a longer spring trip in 2015. It seems that we encountered her during every tour I led that spring.

During my autumn trip this past September, she crossed the road right in front of our vehicle. That was the last time I saw her.

Max

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Awesome pictures Max. I especially like the one with her pacing around the bison. Even at well over 100 pounds in weight, she looks small compared to the bison. …Jim

@Jim_Zablotny @Max_Waugh
I recall one of my photo trips to YNP many years ago when the petitions to reintroduce wolves back into the park were being signed. It was one of the first steps in restoring a missing part of that natural world at the time. Not too much after that date then Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt was there to help release the first pack in the Lamar Valley. Gosh, it seems like eons ago now…:wolf:

It’s been interesting to observe how wolf dynamics–and wolf photography dynamics–have changed over the years. I find it much more challenging to photograph them now than five or ten years ago. It’s never been easy, but the makeup of the wolf packs has been in flux, with smaller packs and more splinter groups appearing, which makes sightings less reliable. And also the politics of the park change… wolf watchers are more apt to report photographers for supposed wrong-doing (e.g., breaking distance regulations) even in cases when that hasn’t occurred. As our national parks get more crowded, a lot of people are eager (and sometimes overeager) to help police them. The fact that I got all those sightings in about a four week stretch, even if they weren’t ideal from a photo standpoint, was pretty remarkable for today’s Yellowstone.

Max

In a few years, I think that we will see changes to how we manage large predators in National Parks. From the initial re-introduction to the present, the population flourishes and the wolves seem to have a cult following with wildlife viewers and photographers. They also just published an annual report on the wolves of Yellowstone. The one piece of data that is really striking is the mortality. Top predators are not immune to death and the report shows that wolves kill each other in territory disputes, some die during hunting of large herbivores, starvation…etc. So life is tough even for these large native dogs. The National Park Service is re-establishing a viable wolf population on Isle Royal. I would like to visit Isle Royal in the very near future.

I sure wish there was some way to get beyond the storm and strife of the opposing elements and get down to sense and facts. But I’m naive about such things.

I’m close friends with ranchers who have lost calves to the spreading wolf population, and they’re quite loud about it in public and politics. But get them away from the microphones and they’ll acknowledge that since the elk no longer reside full time on their ranches, they’ve saved 100’s of $Ks on their alfalfa crops since the wolves moved in. The economics are waaaaay out there in comparing calf loss to hay profits.

Meanwhile I have friends on the anti-hunting side who acclaim the prohibition of predator hunting in their states. They’ve also lost pets when the predators come into their neighborhoods and are frantic to have the predators “relocated.”

I figure that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and both sides have more in common than they’ll share with the press. But I haven’t a clue what to do about it.

Now, the importance of a photo is the actually story behind the photo. This is something that has been elusive to me. I’m waiting for my first wolf photo. I did see one at Yellowstone last year, it it was close to 3/4’s of a mile out and unfortunately would have made a 4 pixel image…Jim

Yeah. I have photos of the ill-fated pack in Denali. I’ve never done anything with them because they’re not “great” photos. But the loss of the pack has changed my perspective entirely.

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