Viral footage of a wolf chasing an elk across Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming is “exceptionally rare,” the videographer told HuffPost. (Watch the video below.)
“I’ve seen wolves many times, but to see them in an entire hunt over a quarter-mile unbroken by anything, that’s exceptionally rare for being down in the Tetons,” Bo Welden, a naturalist and guide for Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures, told HuffPost on Thursday.
The dramatic sprint ended when the elk reached a river, prompting the wolf to give up and return to the pack because wolves “aren’t great at pursuing their prey in water.”
“There is an undeniable power in both these species of animals and to see it firing on all cylinders was beyond incredible,” Welden wrote on his Instagram.
The outcome of the pursuit was somewhat predictable.
Wolves fail in the hunt around 80% of the time, defying “anti-wolf, overdramatized” stereotypes suggesting they kill all the time, Welden said.
Not to mention that elk are surprisingly fast, able to exceed 40 miles an hour.
Welden shot the clip in October 2021 but shared it last week as a “favorite moment.” Multiple outlets reported on it.
Welden is also using this moment to remind nature lovers to keep a safe distance from wildlife: Stay at least 25 yards away from elk, moose and bison and 100 yards away from bears and wolves, he said.