The mystery of an unidentified man in the habit of jumping out of cars and charging at bears has deepened – with the emergence of photos indicating that he started out chasing Yellowstone wolves.
Professional wildlife photographer Derek Nielsen told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that he and his wife came to Wyoming to escape the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, only to have their trip disrupted by a shirtless maniac charging after wolves in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley.
Is It The Same Guy?
Nielsen took three photos of the foolhardy display, which have been making the rounds on social media — similar to videos in June of a man jumping out of his car, taking off his shirt and running at black bears near the roadside.
The man barks and grunts at the befuddled bears while somebody else takes video of the antics from the vehicle’s passenger seat.
“It was certainly disturbing behavior,” Nielsen said, regarding the content of the videos and his photographs.
And while there’s no way of knowing for sure, he says the man he photographed chasing wolves seems to bear a strong resemblance to the man in the videos.
That could mean the as-yet unidentified perpetrator has been in the habit of pushing his luck with large predators for years.
Park Service Investigation Hits Dead End
He might have been hitting different locations too.
After the National Park Service investigated the bear-chasing videos in June. Agency spokeswoman Morgan Warthin said the unidentified man, and the videos likely weren’t taken in Yellowstone, as was initially thought.
“The investigation led by park law enforcement officers recently revealed that the incidents did not occur in Yellowstone, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem or in any other national park,” Warthin told Cowboy State Daily at the time, adding that, “we have no additional information to share.”
Lunacy In The Lamar Valley
But the wolf harassment definitely happened in Yellowstone, Nielson said.
He lives in Chicago, and travels the world photographing wildlife.
In 2020, he and his wife were going stir crazy over pandemic lockdowns in their hometown. They wanted to go somewhere with more space and fewer restrictions, and Wyoming immediately came to mind.
“We decided to head to Yellowstone and spend some time outside,” he said.
The Lamar Valley in Yellowstone is a well-known wolf hangout. After arriving there, Nielson and his wife were watching some of the wild canines from a respectful distance when suddenly, a bizarre scene unfolded.
A shirtless man, with dark hair and wearing sweatpants, started tearing through the wild grass and sagebrush, running directly at a dark-colored wolf.
Nielson said the sheer disrespect and stupidity of the act completely baffled him at first, but then he collected himself and started shooting photos.
In the photos, the wolf appears to be more annoyed than alarmed as it starts to trot away.
‘More Concerned About The Animals’
Nielson said that if the man he photographed and the one harassing bears in the videos are the same guy, he hopes he's caught, and soon.
“He’s going to end up getting an animal killed,” Nielson said.
Or the predator harasser might end up mauled, or even dead himself.
One of the videos posted shows his luck running thin. The bear in that video stands its ground, glares at the man, and then starts going after him, causing the man to yelp and high-tail it back to the safety of his vehicle.
Nielson said it wouldn’t particularly hurt his feelings if a bear, wolf or some other large, irate critter finally catches up with the harasser.
“I’m much more concerned about the animals,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
