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He was in the right place at the right time.

Christopher Martin, a professional photographer from Bragg Creek, was driving around looking for photos in Banff National Park when he turned on to the Lake Minnewanka turnoff and noticed an elk going back and forth on a railway overpass near the townsite.

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“I pulled off to the side of the road,” he said, noting he put his long lens on the camera and saw a wolf’s head pop up as it grabbed at the elk.

Martin instantly knew he was witnessing nature at its finest.

“This is incredible,” he thought as he got into a higher position about 150 to 200 metres away from the action. “I’ve got big lenses so I didn’t want to get too close.”

He then watched — and snapped photos — for about 20 minutes as the wolves circled around the elk.

It led to a dramatic takedown of the elk by the well-known wolf pack.

“There’s so much intelligence there,” said Martin, who gave the Herald permission to use his photos.

Here’s a sequence of what he captured:

Photo by Christopher Martin Photography

Photo by Christopher Martin Photography

Photo by Christopher Martin Photography

Photo by Christopher Martin Photography

Martin has more photos on his website so check it out at christophermartinphotography.com if you’re interested in seeing more.

Wild Things is a blog about all things wild: wildlife, wildfires, wilderness and even wild weather by Herald environment writer Colette Derworiz.