Filmmaker Jake Davis left eight high-end cameras inside weatherproof camera trap boxes around a bull elk that had died after being hunted by wolves.
Davis says his career began with a focus on the wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. He grew up spending his summers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where his time in the Teton Range, surrounded by jagged peaks and abundant wildlife, cultivated not only a love for nature at a very young age but also the desire to share and preserve it. Today, Davis works as a cinematographer on natural history productions for BBC, National Geographic, Disney, Netflix, and Apple; his most recent project involved five months filming snow leopards in Mongolia for BBC‘s “Planet Earth.”
“In a time where people are far removed from the rhythm and balance of the natural world,” he says of his work. “My hope is that my work serves to rekindle a connection with the wild.”
For this project, just the second that he is hosting on his newly-created YouTube channel, Davis says he came across the so-called “wolf kill” in a chance encounter but decided to take advantage of the situation. His experience with wildlife knowledge informed him that the area would be extremely active with predators and would give him an unusually rare opportunity to capture high-quality footage of the site.
In the video, Davis shows his elaborate setup that involved around $100,000 in equipment and included an array of high-end remote cinema cameras — which he says is the same gear he uses for BBC and National Geographic productions and appear to be Sony Alpha cameras. After setting up the cameras and the sensors, Davis says he left them in place for over a month and was left with what he describes as “a rare and intimate look at wolves and their role in this complex ecosystem,” Davis says.
“The camera traps capture weeks of activity at the elk carcass, from golden eagles and red foxes to coyotes, ravens, magpies, and finally, the return of the wolves themselves.”
When he returned to the site, the footage he captured blew him away.
“When I came back to check the cameras, I was shocked,” Davis says. “Wolves are incredibly intelligent and cautious. To film them this intimately is extraordinarily rare. This is some of the most special footage I’ve ever captured, and it beautifully illustrates the critical role wolves play in the ecosystem.”
The episode blends cinematic, documentary-quality footage with a behind-the-scenes look at the process. The footage captured shows a wolf pack, a golden eagle, and a fox feeding on the remains of the elk. Additionally, a wolf even tries to make off with one of Davis’s cameras.
More from Davis can be found on his YouTube channel and on his Instagram.
Image credits: Jake Davis