No, The Pic Of Wolves And A ‘Dead Bear’ Wasn’t Taken Anywhere Near Oregon’s Diamond Lake

That viral pic of a large pack of wolves gathered around a bear they supposedly just killed on a road near Diamond Lake in Oregon’s Southern Cascades?

It was actually taken March 24 not far from Canyon Village and Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and no bear was even involved.

That’s according to the gent who actually took the photo, Derek Madsen of Montana.

He said he shared the image with a buddy who then was messing with another friend, and pretty soon the image got loose in the wild.

One post yesterday with the photo and comment “Pack of 9 wolves kill a Black Bear by Diamond Lake” has received 100 comments and 320 shares (and counting) this evening.

Some commenters have already begun to correct the record on that post. It also looks like there are actually 10 wolves in the group.

“I took the pic in Yellowstone on a power outage. They were on the snow bank on the side of the road. There was no bear involved; they were wrestling in the road,” said Madsen, who is a lineman.

The image was taken on Norris Canyon Road between Cygnet Lake and Grebe Lake Trailheads. Imagery from Google Maps Street View at that location appears to line up well with his photo. There is no Diamond Lake in Yellowstone National Park.

The viral one was one of 37 pics Madsen took of the wolves on the road and the snowbanks either side of it, including closeups of some members of the pack, one of which wears a tracking collar.

Madsen’s wife Marissa said he’d said it was “eerie” how close the wolves were and that he was glad the road had just been plowed and that the crew was in a pickup instead of the snowmobiles usually used.

There can be no doubt there actually are wolves in Oregon’s Southern Cascades, but in response to questions from a reporter, earlier today, ODFW said it didn’t have credible information that the photo had been taken anywhere near Diamond Lake, let alone even in the state.

“There is a resident pack of wolves in the area whose home range encompasses Diamond Lake. That pack currently has six members, all of which are gray, which doesn’t match the color variation of the wolves in the photo,” spokeswoman Meghan Dughan stated.

On Facebook, RogueWeather.com was also skeptical, warning its readers, “Does that really look like (Highway) 138 to you? Look at the trees. Wrong type of trees … And, killed the bear? Way more likely the bear was hit by a vehicle and the wolves showed up for the free meal. Wherever this happened. Hoaxing people….beware of it.”

In 2023, a male wolf was hit by a car on Highway 138 near Lemolo Lake while in 2021 a family came across a lone wolf not far from Diamond Lake.