The wolf is the
world's largest dog--
a top predator and
an iconic animal that
roamed freely across North
America for tens of thousands
of years.
But in the early 20th
century, a ruthless war
was waged against these
cunning carnivores in an effort
to stop them preying
on livestock.
This resulted in the gray wolf
being almost completely wiped
out in the continental US.
But then, in 1995,
a controversial wolf
recovery program
began in Yellowstone
with surprising results.
Here's my journey in search
of America's elusive canine.
[music playing]
[eagle screeching]
This is the most remote area in
the contiguous United States.
The world's first
national park--
Yellowstone.
I'm landing at Lone
Mountain Ranch.
It's a National
Geographic Unique Lodge.
I'm just a short drive
away from Yellowstone
National Park, where there
is an abundance of wildlife.
5,000 bison.
And then they've got grizzly
bears, and also wolves.
And that is the animal that
I'm going in search of.
Wolves were effectively
wiped out in Yellowstone,
eradicated for
more than 70 years
after a bounty was
put on their head.
Without this apex
predator, the balance
of Yellowstone's ecosystem was
thrown completely out of whack.
Animals overgrazed.
Trees and grasses vanished.
Vast tracts of the once-great
wilderness were stripped bare.
Today, there are about 100
wolves roaming Yellowstone
National Park, a sprawling
territory more than three
times the size of Rhode Island.
The wolves are out there,
but they're hard to find,
which is why we're hooking
up with Doug Smith.
Doug is the lead wolf
biologist in Yellowstone.
How you doing?
Welcome to Yellowstone.
Oh, thanks very much.
Yeah.
We got a good day.
Fresh snowfall.
This is wolf weather.
I got a crew on that
butte right there right
at this moment tracking wolves.
PHIL KEOGHAN: What
are the chances
of us seeing a wolf near?
DOUG SMITH: Well, it's
really hard to find them.
I'm just going to do a
listen, this plateau here.
PHIL KEOGHAN: You can actually
work out where they are.
That's kind of cool.
DOUG SMITH: Oh, yeah.
Well, with these wolves,
we collared in December.
And they've been
hanging around here.
I'm not getting a signal here.
Yeah, Jack.
Do you have any
visuals up there?
PHIL KEOGHAN: So
they're all around us,
but trying to pick them out
of the wilderness is tough.
But we'll go out and
see what we can find.
All right, sounds good.
[atmospheric music]
Yeah, there's some
bison tracks here.
Some elk as well.
That's mostly what
the wolves are after.
They don't like prey
on the bison so much,
I think for obvious reasons.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Yeah.
Size matters.
DOUG SMITH: It does.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Yeah.
Doug.
Off in the distance
there, bison.
Wow, man.
[tense music]
They may look docile, but
bison are one of Yellowstone's
most dangerous inhabitants.
With adults weighing over
a ton, they're the largest
land mammal in North America.
Despite their size,
they're incredibly agile
and can reach speeds
up to 35 miles an hour,
and have a history of charging
humans if they feel threatened.
DOUG SMITH: We're going to
have to belly around them.
Skirt around them.
Yeah.
I like that idea.
Yeah.
PHIL KEOGHAN: So it's
a 2-million-acre park.
And how many wolves in all
of Yellowstone, do you think?
DOUG SMITH: About 100.
PHIL KEOGHAN: So that's
a pretty tough challenge.
DOUG SMITH: Oh, yeah.
Well, we radio collar them.
All our studies are based
upon having marked wolves.
PHIL KEOGHAN (VOICEOVER):
Doug and his team
can only keep
track of the wolves
if they catch and collar them--
PHIL KEOGHAN
(VOICEOVER): --which
they do once a year midwinter.
PHIL KEOGHAN: You got it?
DOUG SMITH: This is a
standard VHF collar.
The pups, we can't put
the collar on too tight.
It will still grow.
We do a full physical
exam, and these
are fully-developed adult teeth,
and there's not much wear here.
This is a wolf probably
in the prime of its life.
PHIL KEOGHAN (VOICEOVER):
Monitoring the wolves' growth--
DOUG SMITH: 122.
PHIL KEOGHAN (VOICEOVER): --as
well as taking blood samples
provides important
data of the pack's
overall health, genetic makeup,
and exposure to disease.
DOUG SMITH: A little
bit of mange here.
This pack's been
suffering from that.
This is a two-year-old.
She bred this year--
we think from field
observations--
so its teats are
larger than normal.
PHIL KEOGHAN (VOICEOVER): With
the birth of each new cub,
or the death of an elder,
the pack's numbers fluctuate,
so Doug's team has to track
down these collared wolves again
in late winter.
That's what we're doing now.
But as I'm experiencing
firsthand, finding them
is no simple task.
No signal.
No signal, OK.
But I'm hearing the plane, so
that's probably our best bet.
Wait and see what they get.
Plane always gets them.
He's got an antenna strapped
to the strut of the wing
to track the wolves.
So when he gets them,
he's going to call us.
That's right here.
So that big white slope
is where another pack is.
That's Upper Hill Roaring.
So we've got two packs
stacked up right here.
So we're surrounded by
wolves, but can't see any.
Welcome to wildlife biology.
[chuckles]
All right, let's see if we
can help the crew find them.
Yeah.
[atmospheric music]
DOUG SMITH: See if you see
a bone or something exposed.
That's what we're looking for.
And you know what?
That's ribs.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Yeah?
DOUG SMITH: A dead elk.
PHIL KEOGHAN: He got eagle-ized.
DOUG SMITH: You
want to pull it up?
PHIL KEOGHAN: [grunts]
DOUG SMITH: There you go.
Yeah.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Oh, wow.
The way these rib bones are
bitten right off, that would
be the work of a wolf?
DOUG SMITH: Or coyote.
So this would
have been, how big?
Oh, Jesus, this is
a full-grown bull elk.
So we're talking--
750 pounds.
And this is all that's
left, pretty much?
Well, there's going to
be other bones in here.
I don't know if we'll find more.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Ah, there's a
lot of blood in there, look.
This is proof positive
that these wolves killed it,
and it bled.
And it goes into the snow,
and that is something we use
as a tip that it was killed.
I guess we're a
little late to dinner.
DOUG SMITH: We are.
We're going to keep working.
PHIL KEOGHAN
(VOICEOVER): Just when
it seems we may
never encounter any
of these reclusive predators--
DOUG SMITH: Wait a second, Phil.
PHIL KEOGHAN
(VOICEOVER): --Doug gets
a tip from a fellow ranger.
And so what was her tip?
It was just down the road here?
DOUG SMITH: Yes.
In the middle of Lamar
Valley, the pack of wolves
is visible on a kill.
But we'll see if we can find it.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Sounds good.
Maybe on top of that mound.
DOUG SMITH: I'm
trying to get set up.
[foreboding music]
There's only three wolves.
And I'm just trying to
see if I can get glimpses.
PHIL KEOGHAN: So we're
looking a mile and a half
away to try to pick
out a wolf that is
pretty camouflaged out there.
Yeah.
[foreboding music]
Damn, I'm not finding him.
PHIL KEOGHAN: So
Doug, this could
be our last shot at this, huh?
DOUG SMITH: It might be.
I mean, wait a second, Phil.
You should check this out.
[uplifting music]
PHIL KEOGHAN: Oh,
yeah, I got them.
Oh, wow.
Wow, that is amazing!
DOUG SMITH: They're
single file on a trail,
classic wolf travel.
Looks like a scent
trail around, maybe.
A little bathroom break.
PHIL KEOGHAN: [chuckles]
Wow, that is spectacular stuff.
They really are moving.
Yeah.
She's in deep snow now.
Changing the lead here.
I can't believe we
picked out two wolves
maybe a mile and a half away.
DOUG SMITH: Yeah.
Now, there should be a third.
The third wolf in their
pack might be over there.
PHIL KEOGHAN: Whoa, hold on.
Is that a wolf?
On the ridge!
DOUG SMITH: Oh, yeah.
She's momma of
that other female.
[howling]
PHIL KEOGHAN: Oh my god.
You can hear it howling.
Amazing.
You know, there's three
ways to experience a wolf.
You see it, you
see their tracks.
But hearing them howl is by
far the best of the three.
[howling]
PHIL KEOGHAN: Whoa,
there they go.
DOUG SMITH: They
picked her howl up.
PHIL KEOGHAN: So they're headed
over towards their momma now?
Yeah.
They're looking for her.
Big part of wolf life
is their social nature.
This is just extraordinary.
This is what we came for.
DOUG SMITH: Oh, yeah.
I mean, I can't believe
how lucky you got.
[howling]
