Bones, antlers, twigs? Video shows wolves trot through Yellowstone with their own toys
Parents of young children might understand wolves’ behavior in a video biologists captured in Yellowstone National Park this spring.
The video shows adult wolves from the Mollie’s Pack trotting back to their den “with some interesting items” — twigs, tree branches, antlers and bones, some of which are almost comically large.
Normally the adults would deliver food to the den after a successful hunt, officials said in the Aug. 22 post. But to avoid showing up empty-handed and “being mobbed by sharp puppy teeth,” they bring the natural chew toys.
That instinct may have been reinforced by evolution, officials said. Wolves are highly social and care for every member of their pack.
“Chew toys for the kids,” someone commented on the post.
Some implied they could relate to the wolves’ strategy.
“Me bringing in one bag at a time from a Target run so my husband doesn’t get suspicious,” someone joked.
Research in Yellowstone has shown “the adaptive value of social living in wolves,” including the pack cooperatively caring for offspring — meaning they co-parent the pups, officials said on a web page about the park’s wolves.
They also hunt in groups to take down large prey and defend their territory and/or carcasses the pack preyed on, and they care for their older pack members, officials said.
Officials didn’t say what types of bones the adults brought back, but it’s safe to assume some of the bigger varieties might be leftover from winter elk kills, when the animals make up 90% of the wolves’ prey. They also kill bison, officials said.
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Bones, antlers, twigs? Video shows wolves trot through Yellowstone with their own toys."
