Tourists might like the idea of watching Yellowstone National Park’s top two predators locked in a bloody battle royale, but when it comes down to it grizzlies and wolves would rather work things out.
That was evident when a young wolf and a grizzly reached what a witness described as a “gentleman’s agreement” over a bison carcass in the Yellowstone River recently, wildlife photographer Marcela Herdova told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.
About the worst it got was the bear giving the wolf a grumpy “side eye,” said Herdova, who was among numerous visitors who saw the drama in Yellowstone's Hayden Valley.
The grizzly “eventually made one swipe with a paw but didn’t seem to have any intent of actually slashing the wolf,” she said.
Retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologist Mark Bruscino told Cowboy State Daily that wolves and grizzlies generally get along better than people might think.
“These kinds of interactions probably happen very frequently,” he said. “We just don’t see them."
‘They Danced Around Each Other’
The grizzly apparently was a large, older bear and seemed confident in laying claim to the carcass, Herdova said.
The bear at one point dug a bed next to it and went to sleep, apparently completely confident it wouldn’t be bothered.
Then two young wolves, from the Wapiti pack, approached.
The bolder of the two walked up the grizzly and, for a while, it appeared there might be trouble, Herdova said.
“We watched it unfold, but there was no direct conflict,” she said. “This went on for a long time, the way they were just dancing around each other.”
Eventually, the wolf capitulated and sat nearby. The grizzly went back to feasting off the carcass, she said.
The encounter was ended not by the animals but by an irresponsible human, Herdova added.
“Somebody flew a drone over the grizzly and ran it off,” she said.
It’s illegal to fly drones in Yellowstone. In June 2025, a tourist was caught and ticketed for buzzing an Osprey nest with a drone.
Avoiding Fights
After the grizzly left, the wolves moved in to eat from the carcass, Herdova said.
Next in line were eagles and ravens, which took over after the wolves left, she added.
Animals can usually work out a pecking order without coming to blows, Bruscino said.
“I think animal behaviorists would say animals almost always prefer to work out dominance through body language, vocalizations, non-contact aggression, or a combination of those. Fighting can have serious consequences, injury or death, for the participants,” he said.
After viewing a video clip that Herdova took of the encounter between the bear and the wolf, he said it was a prime example of wildlife settling things without violence.
“I think that bear is communicating that he doesn't want to fight but he doesn't want to give up the carcass during that short moment that is filmed,” he said.
‘One Of The Greatest Things I’ve Ever Seen’
Herdova said watching the wolf and bear part ways peacefully was “one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in Yellowstone.”
“They’re a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They know that conflict is costly,” she said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
