A Rare Wildlife Encounter: Wolverine vs. Four Wolves in Manitoba
Tomorrow morning, I’m heading to one of my favorite places on the planet: the Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada, with Churchill Wild. Hopefully, I’ll be photographing polar bears, Arctic foxes, and other wildlife. “Hopefully,” because with wildlife (like life in general) there are no guarantees. This is my fourth trip with Churchill Wild, and I’ve had some amazing experiences on the others. On my first visit, we had an absolutely epic encounter with a pack of wolves!
I visited again in February and also got very lucky, witnessing a wolverine and pack of wolves right outside our lodge. (Wolverines are rare to see. Their population is small and they exist in low densities. Unlike wolves, wolverines don’t form packs.) It started early one morning, when one of our guides looked outside and said, “There’s a wolverine in that tree.” That explains why he is a guide, and I am not. (Photo one — I circled the wolverine. If you think “Where’s Waldo?” is hard, try finding a wolverine in a dense evergreen in the dark!)
We grabbed our gear and headed out hoping the wolverine was still there. It was but was now in a different tree. It had climbed down and was trying to escape from the four wolves about 100 yards away.
How the Encounter Began
I visited again in February and also got very lucky, witnessing a wolverine and pack of wolves right outside our lodge. (Wolverines are rare to see. Their population is small and they exist in low densities. Unlike wolves, wolverines don’t form packs.) It started early one morning, when one of our guides looked outside and said, “There’s a wolverine in that tree.” That explains why he is a guide, and I am not. (Photo one — I circled the wolverine. If you think “Where’s Waldo?” is hard, try finding a wolverine in a dense evergreen in the dark!)
We grabbed our gear and headed out hoping it was still there. It was, but it was now in a different tree. It had climbed down and was trying to escape from the four wolves about 100 yards away.
The Wolverine Takes to the Trees
He was treed again—this time in tree number three—with the wolves right below him. You can’t see them here because of the thick brush and a slight drop-off behind the trees. He looked down, hoping for a chance to escape, but had no luck and quickly climbed tree number four.
Another Chase — Another Escape
Out of tree number four he goes and—wait for it—he’s now in tree number five. As you can see from the photos below, this one was a much skinnier tree. It made for great photos, but I can’t imagine it was very comfortable for the wolverine. Still, it beat tangling with four wolves: two eating a carcass, one sleeping, and another hidden in the trees to the left of the sleeping wolf (who we didn’t even know was there until later).
Watching and Waiting
He stays in tree number five for a while, looking in every direction and checking where the wolves are. Every so often, he looks straight at us, almost as if to say, “Can you please help? Distract them so I can get away!” The wolverine clearly knows they’re all still close.
The Fourth Wolf Appears
The fourth wolf finally makes his appearance. We hadn’t seen him until he walked out of the woods and headed toward the others. The two wolves on the carcass kept eating, and the sleeping wolf barely stirred.
One Last Climb — And a Safe Ending
You can probably guess what happens next. The wolverine climbs out of tree number five, the wolves see him, and he bolts straight up tree number six. That’s where we left him. In the first photo below, you can see one of the wolves looking up at him before losing interest. The wolf then stretches and walks away.
By this point, we’d been photographing the wolverine for more than three hours, so we decided to move on and look for other wildlife. He did eventually make it safely out of the tree — a very happy ending for him.
About My Wildlife Photography
Trips like this are why I keep returning to places like Manitoba. With a little luck, every visit brings something new, unpredictable, and unforgettable. Getting to witness moments like this—and photograph them—is what makes wildlife photography so meaningful to me.
If you’d like to see more of my wildlife work, you can visit my wildlife photography gallery. It includes some of my favorite photos from trips over the years, from the Arctic to close-to-home nature moments.
Thank you for following along with this story. I hope you enjoyed this rare look into the life of a wolverine—and the four wolves who kept him moving from tree to tree.
© Ellen Zangla Photography
© Ellen Zangla Photography