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The Heartbeat of Wild Places
February 4, 2024
The Heartbeat of Wild Places
Deep in the wildest terrain in the Rockies, a mysterious discovery tells the story of a battle between Montana's most lethal predators
A mountain lion rises from a stream as he attempts to cache an elk kill under the water. "I tracked this cat the day before and photographed him at sunrise the following morning," says photographer Savannah Rose. "We made eye contact for this brief moment before he settled down nearby to groom his wet fur." Photo by Savannah Rose
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that cougars have jaws that move both up and down and side to side. It also stated that mountain lions shear their prey's fur with their claws. Both statements have been corrected in the text below.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Populations of big cats are declining globally because of habitat loss and poaching, but mountain lion numbers are increasing. They are the most successful large cats in the Americas and live from the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in South America, north to Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Jim Williams, author, biologist and former regional director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, says Montana has two to four times as many lions as wolves on the landscape. More mountain lions live in Glacier National Park than Yellowstone proper, Williams says, due to the high white-tailed deer population in Glacier, and wolf packs in Yellowstone have displaced mountain lions from the high, open plains to the northern region of the park where deep canyons and steep slopes are prevalent. “There are 4.9 resident adults per 100 square kilometers in Glacier,” he said. “That's the highest we've detected in Montana.”
The story below happened in Glacier, but could have easily occurred in Greater Yellowstone or anywhere carnivores face off in conflict.
by Benjamin Alva Polley
That winter, I was in the lead. Three other citizen-science wildlife researchers shuffled behind me, cross-country skiing to a remote ranger station, when I discovered a furry limb lying on the frozen lake. It was the leg of some unfortunate—and large—feline, 12 inches long and thicker than any part of my arm, claws retracted, honey fur smattered with small, round cinnamon spots. The severed leg seemed out of place. I didn’t see any copper-colored snow signaling blood, but it was eerie. A dismembered body part will leave that impression.
“[The North Fork of the Flathead River Valley] is one of the wildest, coldest, snowiest, remotest, and toothiest carnivorous places left in the U.S. Rockies.” – Jim Williams
Apex predators often encounter each other and compete for resources deep in the heart of wildness—Montana’s Yellowstone National Park, for example, or here in Glacier National Park on this 2010 trip—places retaining much or all of their carnivorous megafauna. This interaction doesn’t always turn out well for both animals. Wolves and grizzlies are often considered the top predators but aren’t necessarily the best hunters. Mountain lions make for better hunters, but that doesn’t mean they’re the fiercest in fights; their hunting prowess makes them targets for predators in search of a free meal. Yet the public continues to harbor more disdain for wolves and grizzlies than cougars. Staring at that mountain lion’s severed leg, I was reminded that humans are nowhere near the top of this wilderness food chain.
In his book, Path of the Puma, mountain lion biologist Jim Williams discusses how wolves are often made out to be the wild’s top predators, but few are as stealthy as cougars. Mountain lions are cryptic by nature, creatures on the fringe using topography and vegetation for cover. These cats are crepuscular, stalking night’s ecotone of dawn and dusk when prey struggle to decipher the shadowed landscape. They are the ninjas of the forest, meadow and mountain, self-launching missiles that shoot and take down prey species. Lions can leap 40 feet horizontally from a standstill and 20 feet vertically.
Mountain lions strictly eat meat and typically attack from the rear, going for the back of the neck and head, and full-grown cougars can take down mature bull elk, moose, and horses. Their jaws can administer a lethal bite. Nature at its mathematical finest makes it such that the mountain lion’s canine teeth are spaced precisely to fit around a deer’s cervical vertebrae, making the neck snap precisely and quickly. They have a 75-percent hunting success rate, according to Williams, whereas wolves are closer to 15 percent, even as a pack, depending on the prey's health and the number of pack members. “Lions stay invisible, stalk silently, ambush instantly, and go for the soft spots,” Williams writes. “Paws like meat hooks, wrapping the flanks, rake forward to the trachea, away from hooves and antlers, and crush the windpipe. Fast, effective, and deadly.”
I didn’t see any copper-colored snow signaling blood, but it was eerie. A dismembered body part will leave that impression.
Even though mountain lions are such great hunters, they are submissive to grizzlies, wolves, black bears, a pack of coyotes, and wolverines. And they take fewer chances in fights since they don’t have packs to back them up. When wildlife research scientist Dr. Toni K. Ruth led a wolf-lion interaction study in Glacier National Park for the Hornocker Wildlife Institute in the ‘90s, she found grizzly bears can track mountain lions and wolves well into winter, looking for kill sites. “After they have made a kill, mountain lions are constantly on the lookout for someone bigger [like wolves or bears] who might come along and steal their hard-earned meal,” Ruth said in an email. “They are ‘low’ carnivores in the large carnivore hierarchy. It’s one of the reasons they evolved the behavior of caching their kill in between feeding [and] it’s all about concealing/hiding it from robbers.”
And they fight for that meal. National Geographic recently reported that lions are killing more wolves in Washington state, a region in which wolves are now recolonizing. Biologists find this behavior less common in Montana—specifically in Glacier’s North Fork—where wolves have been on the landscape since the 1980s. But it still happens. In either case, it’s not a good bet to tangle with a cougar. “A wolf doesn't stand a chance against a male mountain lion,” Williams said in a recent interview. “But against a pack, a lion doesn’t stand a chance.” They are ninjas, after all, but even ninjas can lose body parts if they’re outnumbered.
Grizzly bears and wolf kills appear similar: they tend to peel their victims' hides and leave them intact. They also scavenge mountain lion kills prompting cougars to cache their prey. Photo by Ben Bluhm
For years, residents of Montana’s Bitterroot Valley complained that wolves were killing all the elk, but a joint study conducted by biologists with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the University of Montana showed that wasn’t the case. They radio-collared 286 elk calves, and when they received a mortality signal, they investigated how the animal died.
“Predators have a particular signature on how they kill,” said Mark Hebblewhite, University of Montana ungulate ecologist and one of the study's lead authors. Wolves attempt to trip prey by biting their flanks, belly and neck until they fall, Hebblewhite said, and then go after the viscera, or internal organs. What’s left is a telltale sign. Bear and wolf kills are similar in that the remains of a kill resemble a discarded accordion: the hide is peeled off and intact. Cats, however, are fancy. They don’t like hair in their food, so they manhandle their prey with their meat hooks, use their specialized carnassial teeth to shear the hair, and pluck the fur by the mouthful with their fangs and raspy tongues. The hair falls in piles resembling a barbershop floor.
Mountain lions are the ninjas of the forest, meadow and mountain, self-launching missiles that shoot and take down prey species. They can leap 40 feet horizontally from a standstill and 20 feet vertically.
FWP and UM learned mountain lions were the number one predator of elk calves in their first six months of life, but during the first month after birth, they were primarily killed by black bears. “But during the six months over the winter, it was tied between cougars and wolves,” Hebblewhite said, adding that grizzlies aren’t yet part of the Bitterroot ecosystem. "If they were, they would kill calves that first month of life like their cousins, the black bear.” The study showed that the lion’s share of elk calf predation went to cougars, followed by black bears and canids (coyotes or wolves). Mountain lions, it turns out, are lethal killing machines.
At our remote camp deep in Glacier’s interior, we used headlamps and propane lanterns to heat water for coffee and oatmeal. We jotted down significant sightings, tracks, scat, and kill sites each morning over coffee into a notebook and marked waypoints. This is standard practice for citizen scientists and I helped out with numerous projects like this for a decade and a half. Glacier National Park biologist John Waller sent us on this mission to gather data.
The morning before we found the cougar leg, I walked to an inlet on the lake to collect water for the camp. Glacier-gray clouds hung low. The frozen lake pinged and zinged in sci-fi sounds, ricocheting outward as if to remind us of the deep wildness of this place. According to the late author and cultural anthropologist Richard
Interrupting a discussion over coffee, I shared the wolf sighting and we geared up. We skied the ecotone between the lake and the forest hoping to go unseen as we glided for a closer view. I knew this drainage well and if the lower lake wasn’t frozen, we’d have to hike around rather than ski across. We were sure these massive bodies of water were sufficiently frozen to travel, but the lake deserved respect and caution like everything out here. Fear of falling in is always present when you’re skiing a seven-mile-long lake deeper than the length of a football field.
This valley, former FWP wolf specialist Kent Laudon told me, is cast in a snow shadow each year, prime wintering range the animals have known for millennia. Wildlife migrate here so they don’t have to migrate to lower valleys, Laudon said, like a large pulsating ecosystem in the predator-prey lifelong ebb and flow. Four feet of snow ran up to the lower lake, but within 100 yards along the northern shore, it became diaphanous for the next 15 miles to the upper lakes and beyond. Even during storms, snow gathers high on the ridge but not down low, leaving only a dusting that creates easy winters for many herbivores, and where herbivores gather in numbers, so do carnivores.
The sentinel wolf sensed us once we were less than a quarter mile away, sat on his haunches and then howled. The pack followed suit. The ghostly warning
When we finally turned back for the cabin to prepare for the push to the upper lakes, howls emanating from the bottle-green forest. Boreal chickadee and red-breasted nuthatch calls tugged from the woodland edges. We came across frozen grizzly bear tracks on the shoreline, winter’s temporary time capsule tracking activity. During some winters, especially in this valley, grizzlies can stay awake to compete for the abundance of lion and wolf kills. James Jonkel, FWP’s current bear management specialist, calls them “winter bears” since they’re out and about in the dead of winter in a state similar to walking hibernation. “Here in Montana’s North Fork of the Flathead River Valley,” Jonkel said over the phone, “grizzlies, wolves, and even black bears sponge off the lion kills in mid-February.”
That winter, the Hornocker Wildlife Institute and the University of Montana intensely studied predator-prey relationships in the North Fork. Jonkel tells stories of finding lions killing lions, wolves killing wolves, lions killing wolves, wolves killing lions, wolves killing grizzlies and grizzlies killing wolves. “This is one of the more magical and unique places in North America,” he said.
Returning to the cabin, we grabbed food, water and avalanche gear to conduct a wildlife-tracking survey of one of the upper lakes. On the moraine above the cabin, we skied through an old fire that left behind a mosaic of charred buckskin and verdant green trees from decades prior. We passed stories of animal movements plotted in the snow: coyotes, deer, elk, grouse, mice, moose, mountain lions, pine marten, snowshoe hares, and wolves. Dozens of whitetail deer buck-snorted, stomped their feet, then flagged their tails before bolting as we approached. In the North Fork, a large concentration of carnivores, which Williams dubs a “predator party,” regulates the herbivore numbers and keeps the hooves on the move, those deer and elk that would otherwise browse the vegetation to stubble. “This area is one of the wildest, coldest, snowiest, remotest, and toothiest carnivorous places left in the U.S. Rockies,” Williams, the mountain lion biologist-author, wrote in an email. “The ancient dance of hoof and tooth has been playing out there for millennia.”
The fifth wolf watched us for a while but soon pursued the others. We didn’t notice its injury at the time, how it moved slower than the others.
Two hours later, we approached the upper lake and saw the same five wolves from that morning now resting on the upper lake ice some 100 yards from shore. We crouched behind trees, motionless, as they stood up and chased each other across the lake. The flaxen wolf, hesitant and slower than the others, wouldn’t put weight on its right hind leg. It watched the others trot south across the frozen mass to a group of boulders left by glaciers thousands of years ago, and pull out an old, bleached moose femur like it came from a toy box. With the others in pursuit, one wolf carried the prize back to where they had been resting. Then they halted. They began howling in unison, and started toward us.
We did turn back. We didn’t want to stress them out. The wolves howled and followed about 50 yards behind, escorting us down the drainage, apparently sick of our voyeurism.
Winter nights settle early this close to the 49th parallel and night was creeping on. I knew wolves rarely attack humans, but fear stalks silently in the psyche. They are large, toothy creatures. If they were the bloodthirsty killers some ranchers proclaim and the Brothers Grimm fable forewarns, our four-pack human tribe might already be part of their metabolism. I reminded myself that these tales from the Black Forest were myths, written as cautionary tales to keep children closer to home and for some ranchers to justify killing in the name of. Later that night at the ranger station, the wolves serenaded, barked just beyond the cabin walls, and only stopped near dawn.
The following day was our last before trekking out. We skied back to the lower lake where we’d first seen the wolves the morning before. We found their imprinted day beds cupped on the snowy veneer, then followed their tracks a half-mile toward the shore. That’s when I found the mountain lion’s leg. The paw was as large as my hand, its rough, rubbery pads three-and-a-half inches round.
“The lion probably had no nearby trees to climb with strong enough branches to rest safely on, or it was surprised at very close range,” Williams said after I finished telling him the story. “So, it fought. The lion lost the battle, but not without severely harming the wolf, who now limps.” He said that if the lion felt fear, the wolves may have acted out of it as well: fear of competition and losing resources. At our base level, humans can relate.
Mountain lions can leap 40 feet horizontally from a standstill and 20 feet vertically, and males can weigh up to 200 pounds. Photo by Savannah Rose
“I am still surprised that a particular segment of our population loathes wolves and grizzlies and blames them for declining prey numbers, even when science shows that these two species aren’t the most skilled hunters. That intolerance may be misplaced and it’s not like they should dislike lions instead, but there’s a reason people don’t detest lions,” Williams told me recently over the phone. “They’re rarely seen. They are ninjas.”
Many species benefit from top-notch predators like mountain lions, wolves and bears. Their successes help keep nutrients flowing throughout the ecosystem. Wolves, bears, coyotes, ravens, eagles, jays, magpies, wolverines, smaller weasels, and many others all benefit from the kills lions make. Even plants grow thicker and lusher from the nitrogen released back into the soil from a decomposing animal. The heartbeat of the wild pulsates within this economy of reciprocity.
In this drainage, deep in the mountains, I’m always delighted by clues about how other animal cultures make a living and am fascinated to discover what happens when these top-notch predators encounter one another, especially in winter when the game of survival ratchets its straps. We need places like this that strip us of all vanity and delusion of our species’ grandeur, reminders of our insignificance, showing how everything is a part of this cycle. Every string in the web must be healthy and robust for a functioning ecosystem to run smoothly. And that includes carnivores.
here. Thank you.
The Heartbeat of Wild Places: The Heartbeat of Wild Places: Deep in the Wildest Terrain in the Rockies, a Mysterious Discovery in the Deep: The Heartbeat of Wild Places: The Heartbeat of Wild Places: Deep in the Wildest Terrain in the Rockies, a Mysterious Discovery tells the story of a battle between Montana's most lethal predators. "Nilimfuatilia paka huyu siku iliyotangulia na kumchora picha asubuhi iliyofuata wakati wa mapambazuko", asema mpiga-picha Savannah Rose. "Tuliwasiliana kwa macho kwa muda mfupi kabla ya yeye kukaa karibu ili kutunza manyoya yake yenye unyevu". "Savannah Rose: ""Puma wana taya ambazo zinaweza kusonga juu na chini na upande mmoja hadi mwingine." Pia ilisema kwamba simba-mwamba hukata manyoya ya mawindo yao kwa makucha yao. Taarifa zote mbili zimerekebishwa katika maandishi ya chini. "Kumbuka: ""Idadi ya paka wakubwa inazidi kupungua kwa sababu ya kupoteza makao yao na uwindaji haramu, lakini idadi ya simba wa milimani inaongezeka." Ni paka wakubwa wenye mafanikio zaidi katika mabara ya Amerika na wanaishi kutoka visiwa vya Tierra del Fuego huko Amerika Kusini, kaskazini hadi Wilaya za Kaskazini Magharibi mwa Kanada. Jim Williams, mwandishi, mwanabiolojia na mkurugenzi wa zamani wa Montana Fish, Wildlife na Hifadhi, anasema Montana ina simba mara mbili hadi nne zaidi ya mbwa mwitu katika mazingira. "Wanavitu wengi wanaishi katika Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Glacier kuliko Yellowstone yenyewe, Williams anasema, kwa sababu ya idadi kubwa ya nyati wenye mkia mweupe katika Glacier, na kundi la mbwa mwitu katika Yellowstone wamehamisha simba wa mlima kutoka nyanda za juu, wazi hadi eneo la kaskazini la Hifadhi ya Yellowstone ambapo mabonde ya kina na mteremko mkali ni wa kawaida. """ "Kuna watu wazima 4.9 wanaoishi kwa kila kilomita 100 za mraba katika Glacier", alisema. "Hiyo ni juu zaidi tumegundua katika Montana. ""Hadithi hapa chini ilitokea katika Glacier, lakini inaweza kuwa kwa urahisi kilichotokea katika Greater Yellowstone au mahali popote carnivores kukabiliana katika mgogoro." Benjamin Alva Polley: Wakati wa baridi kali, nilikuwa na uongozi. Watafiti wengine watatu wa wanyama-pori walijishughulisha na mimi, wakisafiri kwa ski hadi kituo cha walinzi wa mbuga cha mbali, nilipogundua kiungo cha manyoya kikiwa juu ya ziwa lililokuwa limeyeyuka. Ilikuwa mguu wa baadhi ya bahati mbaya <unk> na kubwa <unk> feline, inchi 12 kwa urefu na nene kuliko sehemu yoyote ya mkono wangu, makucha retracted, asali manyoya smashed na ndogo, pande zote sinamoni spots. Mguu uliokatwa ulionekana kuwa hauko mahali pake. Sikuona theluji yoyote ya rangi ya shaba ikionyesha damu, lakini ilikuwa ya kutisha. Sehemu ya mwili iliyokatwa vipande-vipande itaacha hisia hiyo. "Hii ni moja ya ""mahali pa mwitu, baridi, theluji, mbali, na meno"" ya wanyama wa nyama waliobaki katika Milima ya Rocky ya Marekani, na mara nyingi wanajipanga na kukabiliana kwa rasilimali zao katika moyo wa mwitu, kama vile Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Yellowstone ya Montana, au hapa katika Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Glacier katika safari hii ya 2010." Maingiliano haya si daima kugeuka vizuri kwa wanyama wote wawili. Mbweha na grizzlies mara nyingi huonwa kuwa wawindaji bora lakini si lazima wawe wawindaji bora. Simba wa milimani ni wawindaji bora, lakini hilo halimaanishi kwamba wao ndio wenye jeuri zaidi katika mapigano; ustadi wao wa kuwinda huwafanya kuwa shabaha kwa wawindaji wanaotafuta chakula cha bure. Hata hivyo, watu huendelea kuwachukia mbwa-mwitu na mbwa-mwitu kuliko puma. Nilipotazama mguu huo uliokatwa wa simba wa mlimani, nilikumbushwa kwamba wanadamu hawapo hata kidogo juu ya mlolongo wa chakula cha jangwa hilo. Katika kitabu chake, Path of the Puma, Jim Williams, mtaalamu wa wanyama wa mwituni, anaeleza jinsi mbwa-mwitu wanavyoonekana kuwa wawindaji wakubwa wa wanyama wa porini, lakini ni wachache wanaoweza kuepuka kuonekana kama mbwa-mwitu. Simba wa milimani ni wa ajabu kwa asili, viumbe walio kwenye ukingo wakitumia eneo na mimea kujificha. Paka hawa ni crepuscular, stalking usiku's ecotone ya mapambazuko na jioni wakati mawindo mapambano ya decipher mazingira shaded. Ni ninja wa misitu, nyasi na milima, makombora ya kujiuzulu ambayo hupiga risasi na kuangusha spishi za mawindo. Simba wanaweza kuruka mita 12 kwa usawa kutoka mahali walipo na mita 20 kwa wima. Simba wa milimani hula nyama tu na kwa kawaida huvamia kutoka nyuma, wakishambulia sehemu ya nyuma ya shingo na kichwa, na puma wakubwa wanaweza kuangusha nyati, mwerezi, na farasi. Mdomo wao waweza kuharibu sana. Kwa mfano, kwa mfano, kwa sababu ya uwezo wake wa kuunda, simba wa mlimani ana meno ya karibu na mshipa wa shingo ya mnyama, na hivyo shingo yake huanguka kwa haraka. "Wana asilimia 75 ya mafanikio ya kuwinda, kulingana na Williams, wakati mbwa mwitu ni karibu na asilimia 15 hata kama kundi, kulingana na afya ya mawindo na idadi ya wanachama wa kundi. """ "Simba hukaa bila kuonekana, hukimbia kimya-kimya, hukamata papo hapo, na hupiga sehemu dhaifu", anaandika Williams. <unk> Paws kama hooks nyama, wrapping pande, rake mbele kwa trachea, mbali na hooves na antlers, na crush trachea. Haraka, yenye matokeo, na yenye kuua. <unk> Sikuona theluji yoyote ya rangi ya shaba ikionyesha damu, lakini ilikuwa yenye kutisha. Sehemu ya mwili iliyokatwa vipande-vipande itaacha hisia hiyo. Ingawa simba wa milimani ni wawindaji bora sana, wao hutii kwa dubu wa rangi ya kijivu, mbwa-mwitu, dubu mweusi, kundi la mbwa-mwitu, na mbwa-mwitu. Na wao kuchukua nafasi chache katika mapigano tangu hawana pakiti ya nyuma yao. Mwanasayansi wa utafiti wa wanyama wa porini Toni K. Ruth aliongoza utafiti wa mwingiliano wa mbwa mwitu na simba katika Hifadhi ya Kitaifa ya Glacier kwa Taasisi ya Wanyamapori ya Horner mnamo miaka ya 1990, alipata dubu wa kijivu wanaweza kufuatilia simba wa mlima na mbwa mwitu hadi wakati wa baridi kali, wakitafuta maeneo ya kuua. "Baada ya kuwinda, simba wa milimani huwa wanatafuta mtu mkubwa [kama mbwa-mwitu au dubu] ambaye anaweza kuja na kuiba chakula chao walichokipata kwa bidii", Ruth alisema katika barua pepe. <unk>Wao ni <unk>chini<unk> carnivores katika safu ya carnivore kubwa. Ni moja ya sababu wao maendeleo tabia ya kuhifadhi mauaji yao kati ya kulisha [na] ni wote kuhusu kuficha / kuficha kutoka wezi. <unk> Na wao kupigana kwa ajili ya chakula hicho. Kwa mfano, gazeti la National Geographic liliripoti hivi karibuni kwamba simba wanawaua mbwa-mwitu wengi zaidi katika jimbo la Washington, eneo ambalo sasa mbwa-mwitu wanaanza kuishi tena. Wataalamu wa viumbe wanaona tabia hii kuwa ya kawaida kidogo huko Montana - haswa katika Glacier's North Fork - ambapo mbwa mwitu wamekuwa kwenye mandhari tangu miaka ya 1980. Lakini bado hutukia. Kwa vyovyote vile, si jambo la busara kukutana na puma. "Mbwa-mwitu hana nafasi dhidi ya simba wa mlima wa kiume", Williams alisema katika mahojiano ya hivi karibuni. <unk>Lakini dhidi ya kundi, simba hana nafasi.<unk> Wao ni ninjas, baada ya yote, lakini hata ninjas wanaweza kupoteza sehemu za mwili kama wao ni chini ya idadi. Dubu wa rangi ya kijivu na mbwa-mwitu huonekana kuwa na mauaji yanayofanana: wao huondoa ngozi ya waathirika wao na kuiacha ikiwa imeharibika. Pia wao huchukua wanyama wanaouawa na simba wa milimani na hivyo kuwafanya puma wafiche mawindo yao. Kwa miaka mingi, wakazi wa Bonde la Bitterroot la Montana walilalamika kwamba mbwa mwitu walikuwa wakiua elk zote, lakini utafiti uliofanywa na wanabiolojia na Montana Fish, Wildlife na Hifadhi na Chuo Kikuu cha Montana ulionyesha kwamba haikuwa hivyo. Wanasayansi waliweka nywele za nyumbu 286 na walipokutana na ishara ya kifo, walichunguza jinsi mnyama huyo alivyokufa. "Wanyama wa kuwinda wana saini maalum juu ya jinsi wanavyoua", alisema Mark Hebblewhite, Chuo Kikuu cha Montana ungulate ecologist na mmoja wa waandishi wakuu wa utafiti. "Wanyama hao wanajaribu kuangusha mawindo kwa kuuma sehemu za mgongo, tumbo na shingo hadi wanapoanguka, kisha wanajaribu kuangusha viungo vya ndani vya mwili.""" Kilichobaki ni ishara ya kuashiria. Mauaji ya dubu na mbwa mwitu ni sawa katika kwamba mabaki ya mauaji yanafanana na accordion iliyotupwa: ngozi imefunikwa na haijaharibiwa. Hata hivyo, paka ni watu wa hali ya juu. Hawapendi nywele katika chakula chao, kwa hiyo wao huchukulia nyara zao kwa kutumia ndoano zao za nyama, hutumia meno yao ya pekee ya carnassial kukata nywele, na kuondoa manyoya kwa kinywa kwa meno yao na ndimi zao zenye rangi ya rangi. Nywele huanguka kwa makundi yanayofanana na sakafu ya duka la kunyoa. Simba wa milimani ni ninja wa misitu, nyasi na milima, makombora ya kujiuzulu ambayo hupiga risasi na kuangusha spishi za mawindo. Wanaweza kuruka mita 12 kwa usawa kutoka mahali walipo na mita 20 kwa wima. Wanyama hao wanajulikana kama simba wa milimani, ambao ni mnyama wa kwanza wa wanyama wa mwituni katika miezi sita ya kwanza ya maisha yao, lakini katika mwezi wa kwanza baada ya kuzaliwa, waliuawa na dubu weusi. "Lakini wakati wa miezi sita ya majira ya baridi kali, ilikuwa imefungwa kati ya puma na mbwa mwitu", Hebblewhite alisema, akiongeza kwamba grizzlies bado si sehemu ya Bitterroot mazingira. "Ikiwa walikuwa, wangeua ndama katika mwezi wa kwanza wa maisha kama binamu zao, dubu mweusi. ""Utafiti ulionyesha kwamba sehemu kubwa ya ndama wa elk waliuawa na puma, ikifuatiwa na dubu mweusi na canids (coyotes au mbwa mwitu)." Inaonekana kwamba simba-mwamba ni mashine zenye kuua. Katika kambi yetu ya mbali iliyo ndani ya Glacier, tulitumia taa za mbele na taa za propan kupasha maji joto kwa ajili ya kahawa na unga wa oat. Tulirekodi matukio muhimu, alama, na maeneo ya mauaji kila asubuhi wakati wa kahawa katika kitabu cha kumbukumbu na kuweka alama za njia. Hii ni mazoezi ya kawaida kwa wanasayansi raia na nilisaidia na miradi mingi kama hii kwa muongo mmoja na nusu. John Waller, mwanabiolojia wa Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Glacier, alitumwa kwenye mradi huu kukusanya data. Asubuhi kabla ya kupata mguu wa puma, nilitembea hadi kwenye kijito cha ziwa ili kukusanya maji kwa ajili ya kambi. Mawingu ya rangi ya kijivu-barafu yalikuwa yametandazwa chini. Ziwa hilo lililokuwa limeyeyuka lilipiga kelele kwa sauti za kusisimua za kisayansi, likiruka-ruka nje kana kwamba lilitukumbusha jinsi eneo hilo lilivyokuwa jangwa. "Mwandishi wa zamani na mtaalamu wa anthropolojia ya kitamaduni Richard R. Stanton alisema: ""Nilipovunja mazungumzo juu ya kahawa, nilishiriki kuona mbwa mwitu na tukajiandaa." Tuliruka kwenye eneo la bahari kati ya ziwa na msitu tukitumaini kutoonekana tulipokuwa tukiruka kwa ndege ili kupata mandhari ya karibu zaidi. Nilijua vizuri mfereji huu na ikiwa ziwa la chini halikuwa limehifadhiwa, tungelazimika kutembea kuzunguka badala ya kuvuka kwa kuteleza. Tulikuwa na uhakika kwamba maji hayo makubwa yalikuwa yameganda vya kutosha kusafiri, lakini ziwa hilo lilihitaji kuheshimiwa na kujihadhari kama kila kitu kingine hapa. Hofu ya kuanguka ndani ni daima sasa wakati wewe ni skiing saba maili-urefu ziwa kina zaidi ya urefu wa uwanja wa mpira wa miguu. "Kent Laudon, mtaalamu wa zamani wa mbwa mwitu wa FWP, aliniambia, ""Bonde hili limezungukwa na kivuli cha theluji kila mwaka, eneo bora la majira ya baridi kali ambalo wanyama wamekuwa wakijua kwa maelfu ya miaka.""" Wanyama wa porini huhamia hapa ili wasilazimike kuhamia mabonde ya chini, Laudon alisema, kama mfumo mkubwa wa ikolojia unaopiga katika mtiririko wa maisha ya wawindaji na windo. Theluji ilifika chini ya ziwa, lakini ndani ya mita 100 kwenye pwani ya kaskazini, ikawa wazi kwa maili 15 zilizofuata hadi ziwa la juu na zaidi. Hata wakati wa dhoruba, theluji hukusanyika juu ya kilima lakini si chini, na kuacha tu vumbi ambalo huunda majira ya baridi kali kwa wanyama wengi wanaokula mimea, na ambapo wanyama wanaokula mimea hukusanyika kwa idadi kubwa, ndivyo wanavyofanya wanyama wanaokula nyama. Mbwa mwitu mlinzi alituona mara tu tulipokuwa umbali wa chini ya robo maili, akaketi kwenye viuno vyake na kisha akaomboleza. Kundi hilo lilifuata mfano wake. Hatimaye tuliporudi kwenye kibanda ili tujitayarishe kusukuma kuelekea ziwa la juu, kelele zilitoka kwenye msitu wa rangi ya kijani kibichi. Chickadee wa kaskazini na nuthatch mwenye kifua nyekundu hupiga kelele kutoka kando za misitu. Tulipata alama za dubu wa kijivu zilizogandishwa kwenye pwani, shughuli ya muda wa msimu wa baridi ya kufuatilia capsule ya wakati. Wakati wa majira ya baridi kali, hasa katika bonde hili, mbwa-mwitu wanaweza kukaa macho ili kushindana kwa ajili ya wingi wa simba na mbwa-mwitu wanaouwa. James Jonkel, mtaalamu wa sasa wa usimamizi wa dubu wa FWP, anawaita "ndege wa majira ya baridi kali" kwani wako nje na karibu wakati wa baridi kali katika hali sawa na kutembea wakati wa baridi kali. "Hapa katika North Fork ya Bonde la Mto Flathead, Montana, Jonkel alisema kwa simu, ""grizzlies, mbwa mwitu, na hata dubu weusi huchukua sponge kutoka kwa simba wanaouawa katikati ya Februari.""" "Jonkel anaelezea hadithi za ""simba wanaoua simba, mbwa mwitu wanaoua mbwa mwitu, mbwa mwitu wanaoua mbwa mwitu, mbwa mwitu wanaoua mbwa mwitu, mbwa mwitu wanaoua mbwa mwitu na mbwa mwitu wanaoua mbwa mwitu.""" "Hii ni moja ya maeneo ya kichawi na ya kipekee zaidi katika Amerika Kaskazini", alisema. Tuliporudi kwenye kibanda, tulikamata chakula, maji na vifaa vya kupambana na maporomoko ya theluji ili kufanya uchunguzi wa kufuatilia wanyama wa porini katika mojawapo ya maziwa ya juu. Kwenye mteremko ulio juu ya kibanda, tuliruka kwa kuteleza kwenye moto wa zamani uliokuwa umebaki na mimea ya rangi ya kijani kibichi na ngozi ya mwitu iliyokuwa imeharibika kwa miaka mingi. Katika hadithi za wanyama, tunaona kwamba wanyama wengi wanaishi katika theluji: punda-mwitu, nyati, mwitu, punda-mwitu, punda-mwitu, simba-mwitu, punda-mwitu, sungura, na mbwa-mwitu. Makumi ya dubu wenye mikia meupe walinyonga-nyonga, wakapiga-nyaga miguu yao, kisha wakashika mikia yao kabla ya kukimbia tulipokaribia. Katika North Fork, mkusanyiko mkubwa wa wanyama wanaokula nyama, ambao Williams anaita "kikundi cha wawindaji", hupunguza idadi ya wanyama wanaokula mimea na kuweka miguu ikisonga, wale nyati na elk ambao vinginevyo wangepitia mimea hadi nyufa. "Eneo hili ni mojawapo ya maeneo ya mwitu, baridi, yenye theluji, ya mbali, na yenye meno mengi ya nyama iliyobaki katika Milima ya Rocky ya Marekani,"" Williams, mwanabiolojia na mwandishi wa vitabu vya simba wa milimani, aliandika katika barua pepe." <unk>Dansi ya kale ya miguu na meno imekuwa ikicheza huko kwa maelfu ya miaka.<unk> Mbwa mwitu wa tano alituangalia kwa muda lakini hivi karibuni aliwafuatilia wengine. Hatukuona jeraha lake wakati huo, jinsi lilivyotembea polepole kuliko wengine. Baada ya saa mbili tulikaribia ziwa la juu na tukaona mbwa-mwitu hao watano wa asubuhi hiyo wakipumzika kwenye barafu ya ziwa la juu, karibu mita mia moja kutoka pwani. Tuliketi nyuma ya miti, bila kuhamia, huku wakisimama na kukimbizana kuvuka ziwa hilo. Mbwa-mwitu wa kitani, mwenye kusita na polepole kuliko wengine, hakutaka kuweka uzito kwenye mguu wake wa nyuma wa kulia. Aliwatazama wengine wakikimbia kuelekea kusini kupitia barafu hadi kwenye rundo la miamba iliyobaki na barafu maelfu ya miaka iliyopita, na kutoa mfupa wa zamani wa mwituni kama ulivyotoka kwenye sanduku la vitu vya kuchezea. Wengine walipokuwa wakiwafuatilia, mbwa-mwitu mmoja alipeleka zawadi hiyo mahali walipokuwa wakipumzika. Kisha wakasimama. Walianza kulia kwa umoja, na wakaanza kuja kwetu. Tuligeuka nyuma. Hatukutaka kuwafadhaisha. Mbweha hao walipiga kelele na kutufuatilia kwa umbali wa mita 50 hivi, wakituongoza kwenye mfereji wa maji, yaonekana walichoka na ujanja wetu. Usiku wa majira ya baridi kali huanza mapema sana karibu na mstari wa 49 na usiku ulikuwa unaendelea. Nilijua mbwa-mwitu hawawashambulia wanadamu mara nyingi, lakini hofu huja kimya-kimya katika akili. Wao ni viumbe wakubwa wenye meno. Kama wao ni wauaji wenye kiu ya damu, kama wanafarasi wengine wanavyosema, na kama hadithi ya Ndugu Grimm inavyoonya, huenda kabila letu la watu wenye viungo vinne likawa tayari ni sehemu ya kimetaboliki yao. "Nilijikumbusha kwamba hadithi hizi kutoka Black Forest zilikuwa hadithi, zilizoandikwa kama hadithi za kuonya ili kuweka watoto karibu na nyumbani na kwa baadhi ya wakulima kuhalalisha kuua kwa jina la ""Mungu.""" Baadaye usiku huo katika kituo cha walinzi wa mbuga, mbwa-mwitu waliimba, wakapiga kelele nje tu ya kuta za kibanda, na kusimamishwa tu karibu na mapambazuko. Siku iliyofuata ilikuwa siku yetu ya mwisho kabla ya kuondoka. Tulirudi kwenye ziwa la chini ambapo tulikuwa tumeona mbwa-mwitu kwa mara ya kwanza asubuhi iliyotangulia. Tulipata vitanda vyao vya mchana vilivyotiwa alama kwenye barafu, kisha tukafuata nyayo zao umbali wa nusu maili kuelekea pwani. Hapo ndipo nilipopata mguu wa simba wa mlimani. Mguu huo ulikuwa mkubwa kama mkono wangu, na vifuniko vyake vyenye umbo la mpira vilikuwa na urefu wa inchi tatu na nusu. "Lion labda hakuwa na miti ya karibu ya kupanda na matawi yenye nguvu ya kutosha kupumzika salama, au alishangaa kwa umbali wa karibu sana", Williams alisema baada ya kumaliza kumwambia hadithi. <unk>Kwa hiyo, ilipigana. Simba alishindwa vita, lakini si bila kuumiza sana mbwa mwitu, ambaye sasa limps. <unk> Alisema kwamba kama simba alihisi hofu, mbwa mwitu inaweza kuwa alitenda nje yake pia: hofu ya ushindani na kupoteza rasilimali. Katika kiwango chetu cha msingi, wanadamu wanaweza kuhusiana. Simba wa milimani wanaweza kuruka mita 12 kwa usawa kutoka mahali walipo na mita 20 kwa wima, na wanaume wanaweza kupima hadi pauni 100. Picha na Savannah Rose <unk>Bado ninashangaa kwamba sehemu fulani ya idadi yetu inawakataa mbwa mwitu na grizzlies na kuwawalaumu kwa kupungua kwa idadi ya windo, hata wakati sayansi inaonyesha kwamba spishi hizi mbili sio wawindaji wenye ujuzi zaidi. Kwamba kutovumiliana inaweza kuwa misplaced na si kama wao wanapaswa kupenda simba badala yake, lakini kuna sababu watu hawana chuki simba, "Williams aliniambia hivi karibuni kwa simu. <unk>Hawaonekani mara chache. Wao ni ninja. <unk> Spishi nyingi hufaidika na wawindaji wa hali ya juu kama simba wa mlimani, mbwa mwitu na dubu. Mafanikio yao husaidia kudumisha mtiririko wa virutubisho katika mazingira yote. Mbweha, dubu, mbweha wa pwani, tai, tai, jays, magpies, wolverines, weasels ndogo, na wengine wengi wote hufaidika kutokana na mauaji ya simba. Mimea pia hukua kwa kiasi kikubwa kutokana na nitrojeni inayotolewa na wanyama wanaoharibika. Mpigo wa moyo wa wanyamapori hupigapiga ndani ya uchumi huu wa ushirikiano. Katika maji haya, ndani ya milima, mimi daima kufurahishwa na clues kuhusu jinsi tamaduni nyingine za wanyama kufanya maisha na mimi ni kuvutia kugundua nini kinatokea wakati hawa predators juu-notch kukutana na kila mmoja, hasa katika majira ya baridi wakati mchezo wa kuishi ratches straps yake. Tunahitaji maeneo kama haya ambayo yanatuondoa ubatili wote na udanganyifu wa ukuu wa spishi yetu, kumbukumbu za kutokuwa na maana, kuonyesha jinsi kila kitu ni sehemu ya mzunguko huu. Kila kamba katika mtandao lazima iwe na afya na imara kwa ajili ya mfumo wa ikolojia kufanya kazi kwa urahisi. Na hilo latia ndani wanyama wanaokula nyama. hapa. Asanteni sana.