In early summer 2019, a pack of Eastern Wolves (or their genetic relatives) killed a yearling male Moose near the AWRS. We quickly set-up a remote camera and stayed away from the carcass to document the wildlife that was attracted. What followed over the next few days was quite remarkable. Be sure to check out the date and time stamps on the photos. From a full moose to bones in about a week! Those scavengers are efficient – nature wastes nothing! (click on the left or right side of the photos to navigate the slideshow)
Photo 1. Moose carcass in situ. We set-up a remote trail camera to see what wildlife would come-by to visit (22 June 2019, 15:17)
Photo 2. A Black Bear investigates the then mostly intact Moose carcass. Soon it will be time to dine … (24 June 2019, 04:08)
Photo 3. Dig in! A Black Bear visits the yearling Moose carcass and appears to waste no time getting it’s fill of food (26 June 2019, 19:59).
Photo 4. A Turkey Vulture, one of nature’s great janitors, stops by the Moose carcass to get a feed (27 June 2019, 10:34).
Photo 5. A putative Eastern Wolf revisits the Moose carcass to retrieve the last remaining hard-earned meat (01 July 2019, 05:29).
We cannot be certain of the genetic ancestry of the canids that killed this Moose and of the individual we captured photographs of that fed on the carcass. The Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon) has a stronghold in Algonquin Provincial Park. This species readily hybridized with the Cotoye (C. latrans) and Grey Wolf (C. lupus) in and around Algonquin Provincial Park. To learn more about the complex genetics of wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park, see the federal conservation status report about the Eastern Wolf or the mammal guide of Algonquin Park (2018).