Read this Wildlife Art Journal article

My first sighting of Canis lupus  - the gray wolf - in the wild, was in a distant cattle field just outside of Bozeman, Montana a few years ago.

At first, I had thought it to be a strange calf cutting through the middle of the herd in a loping motion. The cattle by all accounts, ignored it.

I grabbed my binoculars and was somewhat surprised to see that on closer inspection, it was indeed a very pale-coloured wolf.

I was ecstatic at this sighting. Its location amongst the cattle was disturbing, though, and highlighted the understandable problems that both ranchers and wolves have outside of the Yellowstone boundaries.

Eye to Eye
Being English, the only wolves I had seen before were in collections and zoos. Usually they are somewhat lethargic and slightly bored animals. So spurred on by the first sighting, I headed off to Lamar Valley in northeast Yellowstone National Park.

The beautiful, wide valley of Lamar opened out before me. Buffalo grazed near the winding river on the valley floor and the mountains raised majestically all around.After an evening of waiting and watching for canine movement in the ever cooling air, a spare tent was offered by two kind wildlife photographers who were also on wolf watch. So there was a chance of an early morning sighting.

It was a very early start, well before sunrise. It was very cold and more than a little damp as I followed the jeep...