When wildlife filmmaker Jake Davis stumbled upon a fresh wolf kill in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—a bull elk lying dead in the snow—he immediately recognized the opportunity to capture something extraordinary. He set up around $100,000 worth of cameras and sensors in weatherproof boxes around the kill site and then left them rolling for over a month. When he finally came back to check the footage, he discovered a rare and intimate look into the lives of wild wolves.
As a young boy, Davis spent his summers exploring Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the rugged Teton Range and its wildlife sparked his early love for nature. Those early experiences eventually led him to work as a cinematographer for BBC, National Geographic, Disney, Netflix, and Apple. Most recently, he spent five months in Mongolia filming snow leopards for BBC’s Planet Earth.
Having also recently created his YouTube Channel, Davis hopes his content will “help people experience the peace of mind, wonder, and joy that can be found in nature.” His latest video reveals the fascinating activity around the elk carcass, from golden eagles, red foxes, and coyotes to ravens, magpies, and wolves. The footage shows all the different animals feeding on the elk remains. And at one point, a wolf even tries to steal one of Davis’ cameras.
“When I came back to check the cameras, I was shocked,” Davis says. “Wolves are incredibly intelligent and cautious. To film them this intimately is extraordinarily rare. This is some of the most special footage I’ve ever captured.”
Around six weeks after the death of the elk, Davis returned to the site to discover its skeleton. “It’s pretty incredible to see how none of this elk went to waste” he says in the video. “My perspective [on death] has shifted a little bit after seeing just how many animals that his life has gone to support.” He adds, “Maybe it’s cliché, but it is the cycle of life, and to see it all play out on camera like this is a cool reminder of how valuable wolves are in this ecosystem.”
Check out the full video above and keep up with Davis’ wildlife adventures on YouTube and Instagram.
Jake Davis: Website | Instagram | YouTube
Source: I Left $100K in Cameras on a Wolf Kill. Here's What They Captured
Related Articles:
Pack of Gray Wolves Has Been Detected Near California National Park for the First Time in 100 Years
Howling Wolf Captured on Trail Cam Footage Is Proof of Wolves’ Return to California
Federal Judge Restores Protection to Gray Wolves in Most of the United States
Long-Extinct Dire Wolf Is Successfully Brought Back to Life by Biotech Company
