This bull elk looked better when this picture was taken of him compared to the week before. He was still favoring his back right leg, but not as heavily as the previous week. With a lack of food during the winter, it's harder to recover from injuries than during the season of plenty. As well, even during this mild winter, the bull does not have a lot of energy to spare to heal. If this male, along with the four bachelors he was hanging out with, came across a wolf pack. All the bulls will show strength by standing tall, trying to look as big as they can, so they are not the ones to get attacked by the pack. And if everyone started running, each would again physically show strength, each one hoping not to be attacked. Even if our eyes can’t pick up any weakness between one elk compared to others, the wolves can. Sensing weakness through visual cues and through hearing and scent. In our homes our canine friends can use similar abilities to tell when we’re sick and, in some cases, before we become sick. For the wolves, their success rate in capturing prey is nowhere close to 100 percent. Depending on the location and type of prey, it can be less than 20 percent. So being able to pick the week from the strong increases their chances of having a meal sooner rather than later.
