Yellowstone National Park is known for its stunning landscapes and wilderness, housing some of North America’s most iconic apex carnivores, such as wolves and cougars. However, these animals do not live in isolation from one another – they often interact and compete for prey.

Our guest this week is Wes Binder, a PhD Candidate in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, who has spent many years in Yellowstone and is researching these complex interactions. Using GPS telemetry data, camera traps, and field investigations of kill sites, he aims to understand the mechanisms that drive these interactions and how they vary with diets, dominance hierarchies, and environmental conditions.

To learn more about the dynamics of wolf and cougar interactions, as well as Wes’s experiences working with large animals in Yellowstone, tune in to KBVR 88.7FM this Sunday, May 10 at 7:00pm. You can listen to the episode anywhere you listen to your podcasts, including on KBVR, Spotify, Apple, or anywhere else!

Written by Matthew Vaughan.