Watch: Yellowstone wolf gives trail camera a free cleaning

The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project recently shared video footage showing a wolf in Yellowstone National Park licking the lens of a trail camera.

“Just a short clip of some wild wolves from Yellowstone, courtesy of our colleagues at the National Park Service,” the RMWP stated March 27 on Facebook.

The footage shows a lead member of a wolf pack become curious about the camera before stopping to lick the device. Several other wolves – apparently healthy, with beautiful winter coats – are shown trotting past the camera.

The footage was originally shared in 2020 by Yellowstone National Park to help commemorate wolves residing inside the park for 25 years, after their reintroduction to the Rockies.

That effort began when 41 wild wolves from Canada and northwest Montana were released inside the park. Presently, about 100 wolves reside inside park boundaries, with hundreds more in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

RELATED: Grizzly bear charges within feet of trail-cam; ‘Look at those claws!’

Back to trail cameras: Wolves are not the only animals curious about the motion-sensor devices.

In December 2022 we featured a clip showing a coyote’s animated response after encountering a trail camera in Canada’s Yukon Territory. In the footage, the coyote bows briefly before bounding away from perceived danger.

David Troup of Yukon Wildlife Cams stated: “Inevitably wildlife can detect peculiarities in their environment, whether it’s by sight, sound or smell.”

Last September, one of Troup’s cameras captured footage of a grizzly bear acting much like the Yellowstone wolf.

Troup wrote on Facebook: “A family of grizzly bears find a camera and investigate the peculiarity in September, with a quick view inside mom’s mouth included.”