I watched as the fleeing elk cow and her calf raced through the water and into the timber, passing right by Big Agnes and my camp. They then raced around the end of the bay, heading directly over to the challenger bull on the other side. Again, I have to say that I've never seen cows trying so hard to switch from one bull to another. As a rule, they seem more interested in simply living in peace, showing little preference for one bull over another.

As the sun set the evening before, I stood in this same spot and watched as what appeared to be 3 wolves chased a cow into the lake below the meadow at the end of the bay. I had been sitting on the shore, listening to the wild call of loons out on the lake when I heard the sound of galloping hooves. A moment later, the cow burst from the timber on the hillside above the lake, running at full tilt boogie, with at least 3, and maybe 4, canids in hot pursuit. It was already so dark that it was difficult to get a really good look at the pursuers, but at least one of them appeared to be a lot darker than the others. The cow hit the water at full speed, just as one of the wolves closed in. The other wolves backed off and started running back and forth along the shore, but the one hunter hit the water at the same moment. The huge splash caused by the cow hitting the water seemed to push the wolf away for a moment, giving the cow time to make good her escape. The water was shallow enough for her to keep moving fast, making huge leaps to carry her away from the hunters. The one wolf continued to swim after her for a ways, but soon turned back as the cow swiftly swam out across the lake. She passed right in front of me, momentarily backlit by the fading light as she swam by. I've never seen a hooved animal moving that fast in the water before. She was leaving a wake behind that resembles that of a speeding sea kayak. I watched until she finally passed from sight into the gloom of nightfall, at least 1/2 mile down-lake and still moving fast. The wolves, if indeed that was what they were, and I'm nearly certain that it was, also moved south along the lakeshore and were soon out of sight. I didn't see or hear them again after that.

From my journal: "I can hear other animals, I think elk, hitting the water on the other side of the bay. That's in the area where I last saw the wolves - I wonder if the wolves are pushing them out into the water. I can also hear the geysers and mudpots. This is pretty wild."