Saturday, August 25, 2012

Gray Wolf - Canis lupus

I know it's been an overdue update, my excuse is I've been taking many trips to Alaskan wilderness for photo projects. Summer in Alaska is short, I have to make the most out of it. I have mountains of photos to go through... Before editing hundreds of photos from each trip, I was already off to the next adventure.

Well, I'd like to share my first Wolf images, taken just south of Denali.
It was in mid June, after a long sunset at nearly midnight, finally dusk had come down in the interior of Alaska. I was heading north on George Park Highway to explore the isolated and lightly travelled Denali Highway. There was a dog-like animal crossing the highway in the twilight. As I got closer I realized it was a wild Grey Wolf!
 
He was standing right by the highway and staring at me as if he expected something...
 
A motorcycler stopping to photograph the unforgettable sight.

After a while, the wolf jumped back in the bush. There he was scavenging a Moose carcass only a several yards away from the highway. I kept pressing the shutter button for his up close! He occasionally would stare at me while he was intensely chewing the carcass, ready to defend his sustenance in a moment's notice. I could see the wild ferocity burning incandescently his yellow eyes.
 
Finally, he dragged a piece of Moose, and disappeared into the wilderness. It was one of the most special moments that Alaska's natural elegance has brought me thus far.