Black wolf of the Fernberg (new image posted June 5)

[Steve Foss]

Four and a half years, and I've gotten pictures of wild wolves exactly three times. One set over a kill, one very fast grab shot posted a few weeks back here of a wolf full of mange. And now, these.

I encountered this black wolf near Moose Lake out the Fernberg Road this afternoon. I was 25 yards away. It didn't seem bothered by that one single bit. I've never been this close to a wild wolf (that I knew about, anyway), and at 1/100 sec it was hard to hold steady enough to get good images.

Blackie stayed with me only about 10 seconds in view, but it was a 10 seconds I'll never forget. Now, these are not homeruns. I could ask for a better background and foreground, or for a bit longer to work with Canis lupus, but you don't dictate terms to a wild wolf, you're just happy it happened. And thank God for the zoom. If I'd been stuck with the 400 prime, I would have been able to get nothing but tight shots (not that I'd be complaining.) <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Both with the Canon 30D and Canon 100-400L IS, iso400, 1/100 at f7.1, handheld, evaluative metering, Al servo focus mode

Full-figured fella (or gal; looks more like a female to me)

260mm

Two steps TOWARD me, and the patented head-down stare. I don't care how much you want to be close to wolves. When one is this close, sees you, and takes some steps toward you, a person starts to wonder a little bit.

400mm

[finnbay]

Great capture! Those eyes are haunting! Congratulations Steve!

[Steve Foss]

I'll never forget it, Ken. It was over two hours ago and I'm still pinching myself. I've been working my butt off in my spare time for lo those four-plus years to get this, but I still can't believe it finally happened. It'll go well with the wolf series over and near the kill.

[mmeyer]

Those are awesome shots Steve! What an experience. It's nice to see all of your work pay off isn't it.

Congrats.

Mike

[Nymph]

stfcatfish; that is one beautiful wolf. I always liked the black phase for some reason. Great capture for sure!

I sure do enjoy the wonderful images you share with us, Thank you.

Did your wife ask you why you were changing your pants when you got home after that one?

[jonny_redhorse]

Holy buckets! Steve! ....Tough enough to even"see" a gray wolf let alone a black one!..like winning the lotto!...and to have it stay long enough in the lens for some presentable shots!..the camera gods were with you today for sure! ....congrats!...awesome capture!

[yakfisher]

Wow! Those are some great shots! Congrats!

[onthefly]

That is one good looking wolf! 25 yards would have me on edge. That pose in the second shot is just plain scary.

I'd still love to see another one (even at 25 yards). The last one I saw in the wild was 5 - 7 years ago walking down a dirt road with my dad. It ran across the road 50 yds in front of us.

Good work!

[MN Shutterbug]

And to think I'd be happy to get a good photo of a chickadee. Man, my heart would have been pounding. I'd have probably got "buck" fever and forgot to turn the camera on. For 99.99% of us, that would be the shot of our lifetime. Yeah, what an experience. Just to see one this close would have me soiling my pants.

Way to go, Man.

[The_Duckslayer]

Steve, even your off the cuff shots looke better than the ones that I plan out. A beautiful animal for sure and you did a fine job to get those pictures. The eyes on that girl are piercing aren't they? Tanks for sharing! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[pickinupafew]

These are great!!!

I tried to imagine what feeling I might experience being that close to a wild wolf... in his territory. I am sure excitement first, photographing specs next then followed pretty close by thoughts of 'self preservation'.

The colored leaves compliment the black coat very nicely.

You gotta love those black wolves.

Maybe not optimal background conditions, but it sure beats the heck out of a road or any other man made object in the shot.

Consider your self at the right place at the right time for this one.

Thanks for posting!!

[WifeKidsandDog]

Wow, great shots. I can't imagine what I'd do if I saw a wolf when I was out and about. I even get scared that birds will become Hitchcock-like and attack me.

Really love the first shot.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, everybody.

I've been practicing for this day for more than four years. Sort of like a fire drill.

When it happened, I was cool as ice. I saw something pretty big and black moving toward me for just a second or two and, figuring it was a wolf or a bear (or, with my usual luck, somebody's black Lab) and knowing that would be a LOT of black on a flat-light day, I quickly bumped iso from 200 to 400, and switched focus mode from one shot to Al servo because bears and wolve aren't known for hanging around and waiting for the photographer to lock focus in one-shot and recompose.

But when it was over, I sat down and shook like a little girl.

[fishinchicks]

On the second shot, the color of the leaves around her head and feet help to accentuate the eye color. Makes the piercing gaze stand out even more!

I never tire of looking at your photos!

[Dbl]

Great couple of shots Steve!!!!! Good for you, that second one with the eyes.......

[Paul]

Nice shots. I would have been shaking in my boots I think trying to hold the camera still when he looke at me like that. I guess that is why god invented "IS"

[Kallista]

One thing i noticed right off the bat was her stomach, shes with a litter, wolves are also 63 days just like a dog and are born in nov a lot.. i believe shes with cubs..Having studied and radio collared/tracking a few while at VCC.. And was out at island royal.. i really think she is with cubs.

Great shots... i always fall in love with the black ones makes me think of Lobo the wolf

[pickinupafew]

Questions... Did you have camo on and were you hidden or just walking the trail?

Just wondering if the wolf identified you as human or couldn't quite figure out what you were? I wonder if his brief interest in you, and the fact that he stuck around for a short time, equates to him/her not really being able to identify you immediately.

When did he first notice you? Assuming you were camo'd and low profile, did your shutter first alert him?

Did you happen to hear any other leaves crunching around you? Maybe more than one?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I sure wouldn't mind seeing more in this series. I certainly understand given the low light setting and hand held if some of the shots weren't tack sharp, but I would love to see some of the 'B' photos from this set.

Just curious, sorry for all of the questions.

Again, very mesmerizing images and what a great experience!!!!

I think what makes these images so captivating is the eye contact between you and him/her. Almost an intimate experience.

[Steve Foss]

Kallista, I'd never heard of a November wolf litter. That's pretty interesting.

pickin:

OK, now to try to satisfy your 2 a.m. curiosity.

Because I only had a few seconds there basically are other images from two separate bursts that show the same pose. These two represent the best from each of the two bursts. I got in an initial burst as the wolf trotted sideways and a bit toward me, but they are fuzzy.

It was in an open area in the woods near Fernberg Road, and it definitely knew I was there and that I was a person. In those situations where I've surprised wolves on trails or when bushwacking, they always have disappeared before I could even get a camera up, but this one trotted in, stopped, looked at me, took a few more steps toward me and stopped again, then simply turned and trotted away. The road was only 20 yards away, too. I'd pulled over and parked and gone into the woods to look at something else, and blackie came in when I was looking at an interesting tree trunk pattern. So it was not your quintessential wilderness encounter, but I'll take it any way I can get it.

There didn't seem to be another wolf around, but in all honesty it would have to have made itself known with a lot of noise or motion for me to have noticed. I was pretty glued to blackie, here.

I'm always wearing camo when I photograph in the woods, but this was a time I could've been wearing bright yellow for all the wolf cared. I was in plain view and not hiding at all. I've heard stories from others about wolf encounters where the wolf came in fairly close and hung around for quite awhile. I read about one time when a wolf came into a guy's BWCAW camp and sat there 15 feet away and just watched the guy go about his camp business.

I've seen wolves in quite a few places around Ely. But I see wolves when I'm driving or hiking around the Fernberg far more often than any other place. Don't know why that is, exactly, but that's what I've found. Lots of people who live out there see and hear them regularly. And quite a few black ones.

[buzzsaw]

Steve, or should I call you the wolf whisperer? I am amazed that you got to within 25 ft of a wild wolf! That just doesn't happen very often and then to get a nice pose shot is wonderful! I really like the fall colors and birch in the shot, it gives it a nice feel. Congrats!!

P.S. Don't go stealing my avatar now.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks Buzz. It was 20 or 25 yards, not feet. But it was plenty close as it was. I don't know that I'd trust any wild animal close enough for us to whisper in each others' ears. And don't worry, your avatar is safe.

I can tell you I wasn't worried, though. There just wasn't an ounce of menace in the encounter. Now, if there were two or three of them at that distance and it was -30 degrees toward the end of a harsh winter, that might be a bit of a different story. I had wolves howling around my camp all night one night, sometimes within 100 yards, when I was backpacking alone last month on the Pow Wow Trail, and that was very, very cool. Yes, it was under the full September moon, too.

I was raised on "Peter and the Wolf" and "Little Red Riding Hood," like many of us were, and I grew to young adulthood scared of the voracious killer wolf. It wasn't until I read "Of Wolves and Men" by Barry Lopez as an 18-year-old that I started changing my view of the animal.

These days I don't consider the wolf some kind of icon to be worshipped and completely protected, like lots of people do. Wolves are wild animals and don't care much what we think of them. But I have spent most of my life fascinated by this animal, and the last four-plus years trying to get close to them.

Probably it'll be a long time before it happens again.

[finnbay]

Steve,

I've had a couple close encounters like that (unfortunately not when I've had a camera available). Going to work one morning on HWY 21 by the High Line Road I saw a wolf cross the road in front of me onto the High Line. I slowed down and stopped and two of them were standing there - the one I saw about 50 feet away and another one 150 feet away. I watched for about 15 or 20 seconds and the first one came back onto the road, around the front of my truck to the drivers side and looked up at me through the window. I don't normally get spooked by wolves but this one sent shivers down my spine. Another time was on the Bear Trap River. The creek is narrow there and at a spot where an area of swamp grass comes right down to the waters edge, I caught some movement right along side of me (30-40 feet). There were two wolves standing on their back legs looking at me over the grass. Again, my camera was buried in a pack. They were there no more than 5 seconds, and then gone. Most of my other encounters have been seeing them half a mile away across a lake, or briefly as they're skidaddling away. What makes them behave like that is anybody's guess. In any case, the planets were sure lined up for you to see him that close, have camera in hand and get such great shots. Once in a lifetime!

[Steve Foss]

Those are cool encounters, Ken. A wolf looking in your car window to check you out. That's a neat one. I think the hind-leg, paws up pose to look over grass for a better view isn't that uncommon. Yours is the third report of that pose I've heard about. I've spent many, many long hours in that sweet morning and evening light along grassy marshland and bog up here hoping for just such a pose. Probably never happen, but one of the best ways to get wildlife images that are better than just good and sharp is to sit myself down where the light and the backdrop are both gorgeous and wait for something to fly/walk/swim into the scene. Doesn't happen often, but when it does it almost doesn't matter what kind of critter comes through — the BG and light make it beautiful.

I did get within about 100 yards of a dark gray wolf on Birch two winters ago. It was early ice and I'd finished pike tipup fishing and it was getting on toward dark. It also was raining, and I'd put my camera gear inside my flipover shelter to protect it from the rain. I was walking out and pulling my shelter behind me with the travel cover on it when I saw a shadow of movement over where several guys had been fishing earlier. It was a wolf sniffing the place over for an eay meal.

I walked toward it and stood and watched it for about 10 minutes from 100 yards. The wind was from me toward it, and it looked up at me a few times and kept going about its business. If it was a little lighter out, I'd have pulled out the camera. Would have been a cool pic, dark wolf in the gloaming, misted by falling rain on the ice. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, eh?

[MN Shutterbug]

I'm enjoying these stories just about as much as the photos. I really envy you that live among all that wildlife. I realize, even living there, is no guarantee you'll ever run into these types of critters. However, it sure increases your chances and I think it's a cool feeling just knowing that the wildlife is probably watching you. This is what I miss most from my fishing tackle days. I used to get up to the Ely area 3 times per summer and really looked forward to the beauty, and scanning the edge of the woods for critters. I never had the time to do any hiking, though. In the 4 years of my travels, I saw one cow moose crossing highway 2 that runs from Two Harbors to Ely, one bear lumbering across Hwy.1, just west of Ely on the way to Cook and a grey wolf, standing a few yards off Hwy. 53 between International Falls and Orr. Even those brief sightings were thrilling for me.

Steve, where exactly is the Ferberg Road?

[Steve Foss]

XT, the Fernberg is the eastward continuation of Hwy. 169 after it comes through Ely. Just stay on Sheridan (169) heading east through town and you'll go through Winton and the highway will narrow but remain paved all the way to its dead end at the Lake One/Kawishiwi BWCAW entry point parking lots.