Wildlife filmmaker Jake Davis of Jackson, Wyoming found an elk carcass that generated images and stories the ages. It’s a six-by-six bull elk that he initially saw on a snow-covered hill near his hometown in February. One day the bull was standing near a road with flesh ripped from its neck and flank. The next day it was dead under an evergreen tree.
Davis knew if wolves had caused the injuries, they’d be back so he set a camera trap. He staged 10 professional-grade cameras around the bull plus two trail cameras for night surveillance. Some of Davis’ cameras were set on tripods. Others were sitting in snow. He recorded from various angles for six weeks. The viral video he eventually created is nothing short of stunning.
Davis sat down with Outdoor Life to talk about everything that didn’t make it into the video, which now has more than 1 million views.
Q&A with Jake Davis
Those trail cameras came in handy for more than night vision. Tell us about the thief in your operation.
“On one trip in, I found only nine of 10 cameras. That’s like $5,000 and it’s gone. I was stressed. I really needed to find it. I felt pretty confident it was an animal that had taken it, but I wasn’t sure until I checked the trail camera. I could see the wolf with the camera at night, but I couldn’t see where it went. It took me a bit to find it and there’s a funny side note to all this. The camera the wolf stole was the same exact camera a snow leopard stole two years ago. Now that camera box has bites from leopard and wolf.
You’ve set camera traps professionally for a decade so this is not your first rodeo, but did you learn anything new about wildlife?
“I thought I knew what would happen, but I actually learned a lot about what happens when wolves kill an elk. Other animals need wolves to come in and rip it open before they will [feed]. It wasn’t until wolves ripped the ribcage open that coyotes and foxes came in. Once wolves rip it open, everything accelerates. That was really interesting.”
“I’ve been interested in the YouTube space for several years and really wanted to commit to it. This was perfect for that. People say I should not be putting it on YouTube for free, but I was really curious about doing stuff on YouTube. It’s nice to make something for myself and make it the way I want to make it and just experiment. Just put it out there and see what happens. It’s been a really cool experience.”
“The last shot. I couldn’t believe it. There were so many wolves and the elk turned up like it was plus all the sounds, it was magic. When I checked the camera and saw that shot, I was overwhelmed. I wasn’t sure I would get any wolves at all.”
What happened to what little was left of the elk after six weeks?
“I got a tag (Interstate Game Tag: $8) from Wyoming Game and Fish Department so I could keep the deadhead (head with antlers attached). I was impressed with him. He was a 6×6, but I don’t think he was very healthy. A brow tine is snapped off at the base and two top tines are broken. His lower jaw has a giant abscess so the right side is twice the size of the left. He was in bad shape. Maybe he took a really big fall off a cliff or something. Whatever happened, there was a lot of trauma. He was probably not in the best shape going into winter.
I can’t say with 100% certainty that wolves killed that elk, but I think that’s very likely. The wounds on the neck and hind quarters are classic for how wolves hunt. Maybe he was just strong enough that they thought it was not worth it so they waited him out.”
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