Yellowstone National Park 2024 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
12 through 15 May 2024
Yellowstone National Park
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
~ May 2024 ~
May 12th - Sunday
29 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 75 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I had nine avocets in a pond in Soda Butte Valley this morning. I had a THREE DOG DAY (coyote, fox, wolf) today. At 6:15 a.m. two black and two gray Mollies wolves were observed south of the Confluence. At 6:30 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly with three yearlings northeast of Coyote Overlook. Great viewing while they were in sight. At 7:55 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one yearling on the # 3 finger on Norris. At 8:50 a.m. I found a large cinnamon black bear on K-2 Meadow viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 9:00 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly on the Northern Divide Ridge. At 9:10 a.m. Gary G found a black bear in the tree line on Amethyst Bench. At 9:50 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly in the high meadow west of the Slough Den. At 10:15 a.m. I found a large black bear between the Horizontal and Diagonal forests. At 10:40 a.m. 907F the gray alpha female and a black wolf were near the Slough Den. At 2:10 p.m. we had a small grizzly digging near Tower Junction. Apparently, it had been there most of the morning and was seen there after I left this afternoon. At 2:40 p.m. two additional black wolves were observed near the Slough den area. At 4:00 p.m. I found the two sub adult grizzlies digging in the Bowl. They were sleeping and Paul S and I waited for an hour to see if first they were bears, then if they were grizzlies and finally to see that they were the sub adults. At 5:30 p.m. I found grizzlies digging north of Picnic, only Hank L and I got to see them as they were not in view in view very long.
May 13th - Monday
34 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 65 degrees. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:40 a.m. Gary G found the two sub adult grizzlies digging again in the Bowl. At 6:10 a.m. Paul S showed us a collared gray wolf traveling west south of Hobart Hill. At 6:20 a.m. Randi M had a large dark grizzly in the tree line in the old Druid rendezvous area. It scratched its back on a large tree before disappearing in the trees. At 7:15 a.m. Paul S found the grizzly with the three yearlings north of Coyote Pullout. Great viewing while in sight before going over the hill. But returned again for good viewing from Lamar Canyon East Pullout. At 7:30 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) had a grizzly in the Lion Meadow digging for a long time. At 7:40 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three two- and one-half year-old cubs in the Yellow Grass Meadow. At 8:00 a.m. Gary G found the 3 1/2-year-old female sub adult grizzly near #9 's old den southwest of Slough Creek. At 8:30 a.m. Dean D found a medium sized grizzly near the mixed conifer aspen forest in Slough Creek. At 8:30 a.m. 1478F a two-year-old gray wolf was sighted near the den. At 8:40 a.m. two black wolves were around the den area. At 8:45 a.m. Howard A found a medium sized colorful grizzly above the Slough Den. It was in view a long time. At 8:50 a.m. 1479Fthe black yearling (only pup from the pack last year) walked around the den area. At 11:20 a.m. the grizzly sow with one yearling spotted on the # 2 finger on Norris. At 12:15 p.m. a black bear was seen in the tree line south of the Institute. At 4:00 p.m. I took a ride up to the Tower Store finding a black bear sow with two cinnamon cubs of the year near Rainy Lake. At 6:30 p.m. we had a black bear sow with two cinnamon yearling cubs east of the Gravel Pullout down the Slough Creek Campground Road.
May 14th - Tuesday
37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning with a lot of rain and low clouds all day warming up to 52 degrees. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. I found a bull moose in the Chalcedony Fan southeast of Picnic Pullout this morning, a strange place for a moose. I viewed a golden eagle flying around the Confluence this morning. At 5:15 a.m. I walked up above the Confluence to view the elk carcass in the river. A large grizzly and one collared Mollies Pack wolf were on the carcass. The grizzly controlled the carcass for about thirty minutes but then got spooked by all the car traffic and ran towards the tree line. At 5:35 a.m. there was howling to the south of Trashcan Pullout, and we found the rest of the Mollies. I had four black and two grays. but others stayed longer and counted ten wolves. At 6:30 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly digging in the Lion Meadow. At 6:40 a.m. Dean D found a large black bear west of the Slough Den. At 7:05 a.m. I found the 3 1/2-year-old female sub adult on Junction Butte viewed from Slough Creek. She was moving this morning, once disappearing over the top, but guides found her from the west side of Junction Butte. At 7:40 a.m. I found a tall grizzly on the Southern Divide Ridge traveling south. A large grizzly had a lot of bison running today. At 7:30 a.m. Gary G made the long spot of today finding a grizzly from Slough Creek way over on Prospect Peak five or six miles to the west. At 8:00 a.m. three black and two gray wolves went around the Slough den. At 8:30 a.m. from Coyote Pullout I found a small colorful grizzly on the Southern Divide Ridge, it was about one half the size of the large grizzly seen from the Slough Creek side. At 9:00 a.m. a black bear came near the tree line south of Midpoint Pullout. At 9:25 a.m. the grizzly sow with one yearling was viewed on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 3:30 p.m. I found a grizzly in the meadow behind Bear Meadow from the Institute. It was in and out of clouds, but later Randi M found it with one other grizzly near the skyline, a brief look no one else saw. At 3:45 p.m. Donna F found a colorful grizzly digging near little tree/big tree in the Bowl. At 4:00 p.m. Randi M found a dark grizzly digging low in Bear Meadow. At 4:40 p.m. Mike G found a black bear north of the Institute. At 5:20 p.m. Paul S found a tall grizzly digging in the K Meadow. At 6:50 p.m. I found a small grizzly east of the willows that are on the east side of the Horizontal Forest. Near dark I found a large grizzly in the tree line south of the Confluence, did not count it as probably the large grizzly on the elk carcass before daylight.
May 15th - Wednesday
37 degrees in Silver Gate warming up to a nice 62 degrees with a cool wind. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. I watched four moose at Round Prairie tonight. At 5:30 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench. At 5:50 a.m. Dean D found a large grizzly digging in front of the mixed conifer aspen forest at Slough Creek. At 6:15 a.m. I found the 3 1/2-year-old female sub adult grizzly on the top of Junction Butte. At 6:45 a.m. we had five wolves in the Slough den area: 1479F (the black that looks brown yearling), 907F the gray alpha female, 1478F (a gray two-year-old female) and two black wolves near the den. At 7:15 a.m. Mark L let us know about a grizzly family east of the Gravel Pullout in Slough Creek. It turned out to be the grizzly sow with three yearling cubs. Great viewing at not a long distance this morning. At 7:20 a.m. Karol B called out grizzlies in the Yellow Grass Meadow that Dean D had a quick look at earlier. This was the grizzly sow with three two-and-one-half year-old cubs. They were digging and feeding in view for a long time. At 7:55 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly in the meadow northwest of the Slough den area. At 8:25 a.m. Gary G found a courting pair of grizzlies near the Yellow Grass Meadow. Good viewing as the sow lead and the boar followed her closely. At 8:30 a.m. MacNeil L told me about the two sub adult grizzlies in the large clearing behind the east end of Jasper Bench. We watched them later in the Bowl also. At 8:40 a.m. MacNeil L explained where a medium sized grizzly was digging south of Fisherman's Pullout, the closest sighting of the morning. At 10:45 a.m. I arrived to see the grizzly sow with one yearling on the # 1 finger on Norris that MacNeil L had viewed earlier. At around noon Donna F found a medium sized grizzly below the two sub adult grizzlies still digging in the Bowl. The sub adults were moving higher, and the new medium grizzly continued to the west.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Josh A, Rick M, Wendy B, Taylor R, Jeremy S, Kriztina G, and Joe K. From Pennsylvania: Nick W and Jack D. From Utah: Paul H. From Missouri: Frank H. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. From Colorado: Bob P, Karol B, Dennis R, and Mark and Carol R. From California: Glenda M and boyfriend Rick. And from Vermont: Don P. Bear Watchers seen this report: From South Carolina: Margaret P and friend Marci. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M and Hank L. From Idaho: Carma and Jennings S, and Kim and Joyce C. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Wyoming: Rita R and Kevin M. From Montana: Howard A, Chuck W, Debbie H and daughter Sarah, and Doug M. From Oklahoma: Paul S. From Missouri: Fred and Linda. From Tennessee: Mike and Donna. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D Hayden and Doug G, Scott and JoAnn M and Larry M. From Colorado: Tanner H and girlfriend Joey. And from Ohio: Jim and Twyla E. Others seen this report: From Montana: Kate J, Andrea B, Audra C, MacNeil L, Pete B, Bob L, Michael S, Hunter G, Quinn H, and Dan and Cindy H. From Florida: Mark L. From Vermont: John K. From California: Carol B. From the Netherlands: Jort V. From Colorado: Jim F. And from Washington: Aaron M.
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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