Yellowstone National Park: Coyote Tries To Snag A Bite From Bison Carcass & Immediately Gets Mauled By Wolves

That’s about as violent as it gets out there in the wild, but hey, that’s nature. Everything needs to eat, and in the vast wilderness of places like Yellowstone National Park, only the strong survive. These animals live in harsh conditions and have to fight for every meal.

One of the coolest parts of wolf pack behavior is their hunting strategy. Wolves are apex predators who use their strength in numbers to take down much large prey such as elk, bison, and moose.

When hunting large game, the pack works together to take down the animal in a highly coordinated effort that involves each member of the pack playing a specific role. For example, some wolves may act as decoys to distract the prey while others move in for the kill. They also rotate like lines on a hockey team so they can maintain their energy, and bring constant pressure to wear their prey out. A deer might be able to outrun a lone wolf, but when they take turns chasing it, exhaustion is inevitable.

They have to be good at hunting though because feeding a pack takes a lot of food. On average a wolf needs four pounds of food a day, but it’s normal for them to have ten pounds in a sitting. Much like a large family, a pack with 6 or more wolves needs a lot of food.

So naturally, these predators don’t take kindly to another animal trying to get their food.

A male coyote is seen coming in to eat a dead bison at Yellowstone National Park. A bald eagle is already on the carcass and lunges at the small dog to protect its dinner plate. The coyote jumps out of the way, but still goes in for a bite. Big mistake…

Immediately the whole pack of wolves picks their heads up and takes notice. They all charge for the coyote that takes off in front of them. It doesn’t take long for the much larger wolves get to the coyote and take him down. The pack all grabs on to the dog and violently pull away on the coyote. The female coyote is forced to flee, while her partner in crime is ripped to pieces by the wolves.

The circle of life…