Grizzly Bear Takes Down Elk In Wyoming's Yellowstone Ecosystem

The circle of life happens routinely in the Yellowstone Ecosystem and usually only the strong survive.

You've heard the saying "you don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the slowest in the pack". That is truly the case in this 2019 video taken by Youtube user Evan Matthews while he was giving tours of Grand Teton National Park in Northwest Wyoming.

According to the National Park Service the estimated Grizzly Bear population in The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 1975 was about 136 and as of 2019 the number was approximately 728. Grizzly bears are known to eat at least 266 species of plant, insects, other animals, fish, and fungi. That includes the occasional Elk.

During the summer there are between 30 and 40 THOUSAND Elk in the Yellowstone Ecosystem with 6 or 7 different herds. Mating season is in the latter parts of the year, meaning mothers will birth their young in the spring/summer.

As you can see in the video below, Grizzly Bears are always looking for the upper "paw" when finding their next meal and that includes preying on the young slower Elk calves. Evan, the videographer, was about 100 yards from the action and mentions in the caption that it was the first large animal interaction he had in the four years of guiding tours in the Grand Tetons.

The footage is understandably a little shaky as nerves and excitement set in as the Grizzly stalks the herd and makes a move on the younger Elk. Videos like this may be hard to see for some, but it's also important to know the way the Ecosystem works in Greater Yellowstone.