They were from the Wapiti Lake Pack, a fellow wolf watcher informed me. The two pups were being looked after by a babysitter. She was a large female with a beautiful grey coat. Majestic. She laid in the grass, while the energetic pups chased each other all around the sagebrush. They had come out of the tree line near the southeastern edge of the Hayden Valley. And they were as wild as wild could be in the wilderness.

The babysitter kept a watchful eye. Every time the two pups got too far away, she would stand and jog to a position closer, being just far enough way to not get entangled in their game of tag. Slowly the three of them moved further and further down into the valley until they were finally alongside the mighty Yellowstone River.

All of the elk had gone. The two pups ran back and forth, splashing through the shallows at the edge of the river. The babysitter, laying in the grass again, continuing her vigilant watch. The sun was below the horizon now and twilight had settled in. The image in the spotting scope grew darker and darker until I could no longer witness the wolves’ existence. But they were still there, their wild energy and their vocal howls making their presence known to every creature in those early evening hours.