As we traveled along the twelve-mile road between Norris Junction and Canyon Village, we were astounded to find a group of Gray Wolves standing alongside of the highway. Such a sighting is very rare. Wolves had been extinct in Yellowstone for many years, and were reintroduced only in the 1990s. There are less than 200 wolves in this vast park, and they are mostly invisible, except when seen through spotting scopes at over a mile away. Our trip leader had been to Yellowstone 18 times and had never seen wolves this close before. Yet here were three members of a group known as the Canyon Pack right in front of us for a few seconds. By the time we were able to stop our van at a pullout, exit the car, and focus our cameras, they were heading back into the forest. Most of my hurried images were just jumbles of fur. Only this wolf stopped for a second to pose for me in full profile. I cropped the image just behind the front legs to express the relationship between the wolf and its home – the deep forests of Yellowstone.

(Our trip leader, Dave Wyman, was able to photograph a remarkable head-on curious stare from this same wolf. You can see it at http://www.pbase.com/image/104594573 )