Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
A Sandhill Crane escaping from timber wolves.

I was hiking on this trail at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Necedah, WI on an early Sunday morning. I was going to take a picture of a Sandhill Crane pair that was in the middle of the path. Then I noticed through my zoom lense that a pack of four timber wolves were running up the path towards the cranes and me. They started out far away but got closer quickly. Two of the wolves went into the bushes on the right side and were running up the trail over there. The cranes didn’t leave right away but finally one flew off and then the one in the photo did also. The wolves ran up the path farther, but then turned around and walked away. Scary and amazing to see a wildlife adventure right in front of me!

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Necedah, Wisconsin, United States of America
Camera: COOLPIX P950
Copyright: © Deborah Kirley