Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Winter Wolf

My partner and I had an unbelievable chance encounter with this Gray Wolf in Grand Teton National Park. We were on our way out of the park to go dog sledding, when we noticed a car ahead of us watching this wolf. We pulled over to see this canine walking not far off the main road, between Glacier View Turnout and Teton Point Turnout. We pulled over ahead of him, to watch him from a distance coming towards us. He walked slowly, curiously, past our car before crossing the road and trotting away. Our encounter lasted less than 7 minutes with the wolf positioned at a variety of distances and angles from us. At this moment, the wolf had already crossed the road and was taking a look back at where it came from.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2024
Date Uploaded: 12.2024
Photo Location: Jackson, Wyoming, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Copyright: © Hannah Epstein