Yellowstone National Park 2024 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
20 through 23 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 20th - Monday
Monday May 20th. 30 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 52 degrees with a cool wind all day. We had a blue heron fly over us at Slough Creek just before daylight this morning. I had a moose cross the road in downtown Silver Gate today. I viewed two moose tonight at Pebble Creek. At 5:20 a.m. I had a grizzly hunting elk calves in the Yellow Grass Meadow, and I saw it later in the clearing higher up on the hill. At 6:10 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly just north of Coyote Overlook also hunting elk calves, with nose to the ground zig zagging through the sagebrush. It went west over the hill and out of sight. At 6:30 a.m. I found a large grizzly in the Bowl traveling to the west. At 6:40 a.m. Dean D found a grizzly in the tree line on Amethyst Bench. At 7:00 a.m. we watched a collared black wolf and a gray brown wolf from the Junction Butte pack south of the Confluence. Good viewing as many got pictures as they bedded for quite a while. At 7:40 a.m. we had a grizzly northeast of Coyote Overlook also hunting elk calves. This one went over the hill heading east. At 8:30 a.m. John G had a grizzly moving west just below the Bowl viewed from Coyote Overlook. The morning grizzly on Amethyst was still in view. At 9:15 a.m. a grizzly was spotted on the #1 finger on Norris. At 9:30 a.m. the grizzly sow with one yearling cub was seen on the #2 finger on Norris. At 11:00 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly high on the east side of Salad Bowl/also called the Southern Divide Ridge. It was digging and others watched it a while after I moved on. At 11:20 a.m. while looking for a grizzly reported to be down low in Slough Creek John G found a large dark grizzly running to the east in the high clearing east of the Slough Den. Then a minute later found another large dark grizzly slowly moving to the west. We guessed that the first large grizzly was running after something rather than running from something. A few minutes later a smaller colorful grizzly (we guessed was the sow) appeared coming back to the east a little lower in the ravine. The two large boars were in and out of view for a while but neither rejoined the sow. At 1:00 p.m. a black bear was seen north of Long Pullout. At 1:30 p.m. we watched a cinnamon black bear grazing low on Specimen Ridge. Others said she had three cubs of the year up the nearby tree, which I did not see. At 7:40 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear below finger #2 on Norris.
May 21st - Tuesday
31 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 52 degrees but with a lot of low clouds hampering the grizzly bear viewing as the grizzlies like the high clearings. At 5:20 a.m. Frank H called out that the alpha male of the Junction Butte pack was approaching the Sage Den. At 6:20 a.m. a bedded uncollared gray wolf was seen south of Trashcan Pullout. At 6:45 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly digging in Secret Passage which is northwest of Fisherman's Pullout. At 7:10 a.m. a large black bear was seen in the old Druid Rendezvous area. At 7:15 a.m. I found a large cinnamon black bear also in the old Druid Rendezvous area. At 7:40 a.m. we had a black bear in the tree line on Amethyst Bench. At 8:30 a.m. we watched a courting pair of grizzlies in the Lion Meadow. The boar was bedded as the sow dug for a while then she moved off to the west with the boar following. At 8:40 a.m. a colorful grizzly was seen in front of the mixed conifer aspen forest in Slough Creek. At 9:15 a.m. I found a medium sized grizzly on the Southern Divide Ridge. At 10:00 a.m. Gabriel M found a colorful grizzly in the K Meadow. At 10:00 a.m. I had a wolf swimming the Soda Butte Creek but soon it disappeared. At 4:00 p.m. I arrived at the Lamar River Bridge to find my bear watching friends looking up on Specimen Ridge. John G and Randi M had found a grizzly with three cubs of the year (coys) near the summit of Specimen Ridge. Great viewing for the next hour. She nursed them once and the cubs spent most of the time playing and wrestling. At 5:25 p.m. the medium sized grizzly was seen again at the Tower Ranger Station. At 5:40 p.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with three yearlings to the north between the pullouts of Coyote and Dorothys. Great viewing after they got up from their nap. At 6:10 p.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with one yearling low on Norris. The sow was in view with the cub temporarily out of sight but rejoined the sow for great viewing. At 6:30 p.m. Wayne K found a medium sized colorful grizzly on the #3 finger on Norris.
May 22nd - Wednesday
37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 46 degrees out in the park this afternoon. At 6:30 a.m. Wayne K found a grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench. At 6:35 a.m. a black bear was seen in the tree line west side of Chalcedony Fan. At 7:00 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found the grizzly sow with three yearlings northwest of the Institute. Only in sight for a few minutes as they moved west and out of sight. At 7:05 a.m. I watched a grizzly in the rendezvous area that Wayne K had found earlier. This grizzly was between the river and the tree line but closer to the river. Digging most of the time but once it decided to chase the bison. At 7:10 a.m. I spotted a larger grizzly east of the Chalcedony Fan digging. Both these two grizzlies were seen off and on during the day and particularly in the evening as photographers got good pictures of one at the Confluence. At 7:35 a.m. someone spotted a small colorful grizzly digging in the K Meadow. I watched from Footbridge but later it could also be seen as far west at Picnic Pullout. At 8:00 a.m. Randi M found the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year (coys) on the #5 finger on Norris. With the clouds out this morning the light was good and lots of people got to view the grizzly family. One of the cubs stayed with the sow while the other two played and wrestled. At 9:00 a.m. Carol R called saying she was viewing the grizzly sow with three coys on Specimen Ridge. I believe Carol was down the Slough Creek Campground Road so that was a great spotting. The closer place to see them was from Straight-away Pullout. Really good viewing as the cubs were spread out this morning so we all could see the sow (now 20 years old according to bear management) with the three cubs separated. At 9:30 a.m. Mike F found a courting pair of grizzlies high to the north of Straight-away Pullout where we were watched the grizzly family on Specimen Ridge. Around 10:00 a.m. I stopped at the Slough Creek bathroom just as two gray and two black wolves were meeting near the Slough den. At 10:55 a.m. Margaret P found a medium sized colorful grizzly high in the ravine to the east of the Slough den. This grizzly was digging and in view for most of the rest of the day. At 11:30 a.m. Rick B found a dark grizzly high near the skyline west of the Slough den hunting elk calves. At 1:00 p.m. I found the grizzly sow with one yearling again today low on Norris. They were seen no more than one hundred yards from yesterday evening. At 1:30 p.m. we had a small black bear grazing on the south part of K Meadow. At 3:10 p.m. I was down the Slough Creek Campground Road to make a call when I saw some action at the den. A gray was bedded thirty yards west of the den and 1479F, the black yearling, was right at the sage den. Over the next fifteen minutes I watched two black puppies move around 1479F. The wolf watchers tell me the current court on puppies is three-two black and one gray.
May 23rd - Thursday
32 degrees and snowing this morning in Silver Gate. Going into the park the roads were wet, but the snow was falling making visibility difficult, I was driving at twenty miles per hour not wanting to meet any animals on the road. The roads remained wet, and the snow was not accumulating going into the park. This afternoon the snow was accumulating on the roads east of Soda Butte Picnic Area. It got up to 38 degrees out in the park today. I had a moose at Pebble Creek today. I had two foxes on the road on the way back at midday. I am afraid that both are stopping the cars begging for food. Feeding the animals is illegal of course, but they get used to the road and assume everyone will stop, some get run over because of this. We had OK visibility early and then good visibility for about 1.5 hours before the low clouds arrived. At 5:50 a.m. we had one black wolf at the Slough den. At 6:30 a.m. John G found a courting pair of grizzlies on the rocks almost to the skyline west of the Slough Den. They later got really close together. At 6:45 a.m. Gary G spotted a grizzly in a small clearing near Specimen Ridge with a medium sized grizzly hunting elk calves. In and out of view for twenty minutes this morning. At 8:15 a.m. I spotted a black wolf near the Confluence. Randi had later spotted a grizzly at the Confluence and some bird activity, which I did not see, so maybe a small carcass in the area. At 7:00 pm tonight I saw the 3 1/2-year-old female sub adult on the bison carcass at Boulder. Nice to see a small grizzly get a carcass with all the other grizzlies and wolf packs around. At 7:40 p.m. the grizzly sow with three yearlings was fairly close northwest of Coyote Overlook. At 7:55 p.m. a courting pair of black bears, both black on Amethyst Bench. At 8:15 p.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly north of Soda Butte East Pullout standing and then sitting between two groups of bison. Just checking out the area I assume.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Kriztina G, and Wendy B. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. From Missouri: Frank H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From Colorado: Bob P, Karol B, and Mark, Carol, and Roch R. From Vermont: Don P. From Wyoming: Dale and Fay B. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Washington: Randi M, John G, and Hank L. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Tennessee: Mike and Donna F. From Montana: Doug M, Mike and Kathy W, Margaret L, Jack G, Terri W, and Linda K. From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C, Terry and Marsha J, Blake, and Stacey (eagle ear) R and Emmett W. From Wyoming: Rita R and Kevin M. From South Carolina: Margaret P. From Virginia: Big John B and Gabriel M. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Missouri: Fred and Linda. From Iowa: Steve S and Bob A, the Iowa guys (Terry, Mark, Tom, and Dan). From Illinois: Wayne K and Frank and Cole G. From Colorado: Rick and Tanner H, Kim H, and Tom and Lisa K. From California: Daniel M. And From Georgia: Sandi R. Others seen this report: From Montana: Dan and Cindy H, Audra C, Michael S, Bob L, Andrea B, Evan S, Steve B, Quinn H, Mike S, MacNeil L, and Grant J. From Wyoming: Tom H. From Vermont: John K. From Colorado: Jim F. From Washington: Matt P, and Aaron M. From Idaho: Ray T. From California: Carol B. And From Florida: Mark L.
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
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Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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