Work smarter, not harder.
In the wild, it’s first come first serve, survival of the fittest, only the strong survive, and most critters will go to extreme lengths to make sure they get fed.
But… even in the wild, there’s such as thing as freeloaders, and I’m not talking about scavengers.
One particular grizzly bear at Yellowstone National Park came up with a genius idea to follow along a wolf pack in search of its prey. And no, the grizzly was not there to make friends.
According to The Hill, this grizzly was following the Junction Butte wolf pack as they were in the midst of an elk hunt back in October of 2021. The wolves tracked down an elk, and when they captured it, the grizzly made sure it wasn’t gonna leave hungry.
It jumped in and stole the carcass, taking home a nice meal.
This “rare phenomenon” is known as kleptoparasitism, which is where one animal steals the resources of another animal/pack of animals.
The National Park Service (NPS) weighed in on the rare occurrence:
“On the morning of October 21, 2021 visitors watching wildlife in Yellowstone’s northern range were amazed when they saw an adult grizzly bear seemingly hunting elk with the Junction Butte wolf pack.
Wolves and bears typically compete with one another for prey, so why might this be happening?
Typically, wolves will yield to incoming bears. Since hunting is dangerous and often unsuccessful, it’s better for wolves to wait their turn at a carcass that has been usurped by a bear than it is for them to continue hunting.
From the bear’s perspective, it takes a lot of energy to follow a wolf pack around, but the reward is high if it successfully takes over a carcass. A fresh elk carcass is a wonderful source of fat and protein for a grizzly bear preparing for hibernation.
This bear seems to have figured out that following the wolves in the morning will increase its chances of encountering a high-calorie meal.”
Ever work on a group project where one dumbass doesn’t do any of the work, but still gets a good grade?