Latest news with #YellowstoneWolfProject
Newsweek
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Traffic Stops for Giant 'Dog' in Yellowstone—Then People Realize What It Is
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Visitors to Yellowstone National Park were shocked when they saw what appeared to be a dog with a collar running loose in the area—only to realize it was a large black wolf. Marcela, a national parks landscape and wildlife photographer who runs photo studio Ruby Hour Photo Art, captured the incredible moment in September 2024.. She shared the video to her Instagram account, @rubyhourphotoart on May 3, explaining she was reposting it as "a cautionary tale about driving carefully in Yellowstone." "Many thought this was someone's dog because it has a collar. Certainly not a dog—this is a black wolf in Yellowstone's Hayden Valley." The video shows vehicles parked up on both sides of the road as a large black wolf—wearing a bright yellow collar—lopes across the grass before crossing the road. But just as the wolf gets on the tarmac, a car, going at decent speed, arrives in shot, and slows down just in time to allow the wolf to continue crossing. Marcela, who gave her first name only, told Newsweek: "Just as the wolf was about to cross, a car towing a trailer came from around a slight curve, breaking just in time for the wolf to safely cross. A wolf wearing a collar crosses the road i Yellowstone National Park, narrowly avoiding a car. A wolf wearing a collar crosses the road i Yellowstone National Park, narrowly avoiding a car. Instagram @rubyhourphotoart "Close calls or incidents are frequent enough in Tetons and Yellowstone, where I most photograph at, but also at other national parks," she said. "It pays to pay attention, especially during those seasons when animals are moving across the parks or have new babies." The Yellowstone Wolf Project is a detailed study of wolves in the national park, including the animals' population, predator-prey interactions and social behavior. Researchers place collars with very high frequency (VHF) radio and GPS on wolves in the area, to track and study the animals, according to Marcela warned: "If you see one animal cross, always slow down and wait some—often a little one, or several, follow the mom soon after! This is especially true for grizzlies, black bears, elk, deer, moose and other park animals." The wolf, which Marcela says many believed was a dog initially, safely crosses to the other side. The wolf, which Marcela says many believed was a dog initially, safely crosses to the other side. Instagram @rubyhourphotoart Instagram users were in awe at the video, awarding it more than 122,700 likes, as many worried about the safety of the animals due to vehicles on the roads. "Dude speeding through with five cars pulled over," one complained, as another asked: "Who doesn't slow down in the park when people are obviously watching game?" Another wrote sarcastically: "If there's 10 cars all parked on the side of the road, use two seconds of critical thinking to assess that maybe there's a wild animal!" And as one put it: "Apparently Yellowstone needs to install speed bumps." Marcela told Newsweek it's "always an incredible experience to observe wildlife in their own habitat," stressing the importance of going so from an "appropriate distance, and treating them with respect." "After all, it's us who are the guests in their environment." "I understand people get really excited and want to get close," she acknowledged. "Yellowstone in particular is notorious for that—but it's worth remembering you're putting both yourself and the animal in danger too with inattentive driving or getting too close." As of 2024, there were at least 108 wolves in Yellowstone National Park, according to the National Park Service, after the animals were reintroduced to the park in 1995.
Business Wire
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
The Colossal Foundation Partners with Yellowstone Forever and the Yellowstone Wolf Project To Revolutionize Wolf Conservation Through Advanced Acoustic Monitoring Technologies
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Colossal Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of Colossal Biosciences, today announced a strategic partnership with Yellowstone Forever, the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park, to support Yellowstone National Park's Wolf Project and its innovative bioacoustics efforts. The new collaboration aims to transform the way conservationists monitor and protect wild wolf populations by integrating advanced acoustic monitoring technologies, machine learning pipelines, and continuous ecological data collection. The project will focus initially on the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park. By deploying next-generation integrated acoustic and video camera traps, the project will collect around-the-clock bioacoustics data from wolves and other wildlife in Yellowstone that share wolf pack territories. These recordings will be analyzed by a sophisticated, modular software pipeline developed by the Colossal Foundation's artificial intelligence team, which uses machine-learning algorithms to parse massive vocalization datasets—an approach that can be replicated for multiple species inside Yellowstone and beyond. The custom-built models will automatically identify individual howls, chorus howls, and even gunshots, cluster calls by acoustic 'fingerprint,' and extract key metrics—such as pack identity, size, and even pup presence—allowing for non-invasive census, movement, and behavior studies. In time, the software will be able to provide deeper insights into wolf communication and social dynamics, all while employing innovative monitoring methods that minimize human impact. "Wolves play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, yet they face significant risks from human activities," said Matt James, Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation. 'Our support of this project combines mission-critical conservation needs, such as remote monitoring and deterrence of wildlife conflict, with Colossal's strength in frontier technologies. With this fusion, we can create a blueprint for AI-driven wildlife protection worldwide.' As of January 2024, there were at least 100 wolves in Yellowstone National Park across numerous packs and many breeding pairs. Acoustic monitoring will let researchers track population trends, pack membership changes, territory use, and responses to environmental or human disturbances with minimal intrusion, fostering better coexistence between wolves and local communities. 'Yellowstone Forever is grateful to receive support from the Colossal Foundation to further the groundbreaking work of the Yellowstone Wolf Project and expand the bioacoustic monitoring of Yellowstone's wolves,' said Sam Barkley, Chief Development Officer for Yellowstone Forever. Over the past year, a team of hardware and software engineers at Grizzly Systems Inc. has been developing advanced solutions like the GrizCam, which integrates long-lasting camera traps with built-in acoustic recorders. Their contributions have significantly advanced the project's capacity to collect high-quality data suitable for comprehensive biological research. Jeffrey Reed, CEO of Grizzly Systems, Inc., said: 'The mission of Grizzly Systems, Inc. is to advance field science, combat wildlife crime, deter livestock depredations, and build the digital wild, sparking curiosity, education and advocacy for the next generation of tech-savvy conservationists. AI is used to sort through this data at a fraction of the cost it would take to sort through manually. Together with Colossal and the biologists at the park, we're deciphering the secrets of wolf communication. Nowhere else in the world is able to decode wolf 'language' like this.' The Colossal Foundation's support of the Wolf Project's bioacoustics effort has led to the procurement of 25 additional GrizCam units that are to be deployed within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Data capture and recording will begin immediately upon deployment. Early successes in the project include the creation of a wolf-classifier, trained on a few-shot classifier previously developed by Colossal's AI core, that can identify individual and chorus howls with over 92% accuracy. The Colossal Foundation is also seeking to expand the impact of this technology beyond Yellowstone's borders. Working alongside the Nez Perce Tribe—long-time leaders in wolf management across Idaho—the project will deploy a pilot network of GrizCam units on tribal lands. By pairing technical training and data analysis support with the Tribe's on-the-ground expertise and traditional ecological knowledge, the coalition will build local capacity for non-invasive wolf monitoring while honoring tribal sovereignty and deep cultural ties to the species. 'For the Nez Perce people, the wolf, or hîmiin, is more than a keystone species—it is a relative that is woven into our culture and our obligations as caretakers,' said Eric Kash, Director of the Nez Perce Tribe's Wildlife Division. 'Integrating bioacoustics technology with our on-the-ground expertise will sharpen our ability to track packs and share data across tribal and federal boundaries. Partnerships like this ensure that modern science and Indigenous knowledge move forward together for the benefit of wolves and the ecosystems they sustain.' 'We invest our time and expertise on projects that we believe will have a big impact for local stakeholders and in time, the whole of conservation,' said CEO and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences Ben Lamm. 'By merging AI, bioacoustics, and rugged field hardware, we're addressing some of the major challenges afflicting conservation and creating a scalable framework that can support coexistence wherever wolves roam.' ABOUT THE COLOSSAL FOUNDATION The Colossal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting the use of cutting-edge technologies to conservation efforts globally to help prevent extinction of keystone species. The organization deploys cutting-edge de-extinction technologies and support to empower partners in the field to reverse the extinction crisis. ABOUT YELLOWSTONE FOREVER Yellowstone Forever is the official nonprofit partner of Yellowstone National Park, with the mission to protect, preserve and enhance the park through education and philanthropy.
