Yellowstone National Park 2024 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
25 through 28 June 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
~ June 2024 ~
June 25th - Tuesday
40 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 82 degrees. I had a THREE DOG (coyote, fox, and wolf) DAY today. At 5:15 a.m. I found a grizzly digging on the #2 finger on Norris. At 5:40 a.m. we watched the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year on a clearing above the Bell. At 5:50 a.m. the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year was spotted north of the Institute. At 6:00 a.m. Gary G found a black bear grazing low on Ski Slope. At 6:40 a.m. 1479F and the alpha male of the Junction Butte wolfpack were seen south of the Institute traveling to the east. At 3:40 p.m. we had a courting pair of black bears traveling in K-2 Meadow. At 5:10 p.m. a gray wolf made a brief appearance near the Slough Creek den. At 7:00 p.m. Gary G showed me a black bear in the tree line near the western foothills viewed from Picnic Pullout. At 7:25 p.m. Gary G found a cinnamon black bear high above the one-half finger on Norris.
June 26th - Wednesday
44 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to a nice 75 degrees out in the park. Two yearling moose crossed the road in front of me to the south between Cooke City and Silver Gate this afternoon. The rain started about 2:00 p.m. but stopped just before 3:45 p.m. when I got up and moved. At 5:15 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly digging on the skyline of the Bowl at the top of A-Z Meadow. At 5:25 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year digging north of the Institute. At 6:00 a.m. Alexander, Silver Gate Guides, showed us a large dark grizzly traveling through the eroded area of the Old Druid Rendezvous Area. At 6:50 a.m. 1477F a black two-year-old female, 1478F a gray two-year-old female, and 1479F a black yearling all of the Junction Butte Pack traveling west near the tree line west of the Chalcedony Drainage. They were in sight for a while before disappearing into the trees going uphill. At 7:30 a.m. we had a grizzly hunting on the Southern Divide Ridge. At 7:50 a.m. Gary G had a small colorful grizzly to the west of A-Z Meadow, later it was seen in the Bowl for quite a long time digging. At 9:00 a.m. Gary G found a black bear sow with two small cubs of the year on a clearing below Druid Peak viewed from near the Institute. At 10:00 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly digging on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 11;00 a.m. a black bear was seen on the Northern Divide Ridge. Between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. we had a nice rain shower, this cleared up the air for good viewing and got the animals moving. At 4:10 a.m. I found a grizzly high northwest of the Institute. The grizzly with two cubs of the year was seen this morning, made another appearance this afternoon. At 5:30 p.m. I found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year low in Bear Meadow. Good viewing as they stayed in view for a long time. At 6:15 p.m. Gary G found the black bear sow with two small black cubs of the year again in a clearing below Druid Peak. At 6:35 p.m. a cinnamon sow and a black boar (mating pair) were traveling on the #1 finger on Norris. At 6:45 p.m. a brown colored grizzly was digging on Penny Lane viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 7:10 p.m. we found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year on K-2 Meadow. This is the Ski Slope grizzly family usually seen on Ski Slope and then under the snow cornices, they have moved a long way to the south and east. At 7:15 p.m. Gary G made the spot of the day finding the grizzly sow with two cubs in a meadow high north of Pebble Creek viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 7:35 p.m. we had a large dark cinnamon black bear southwest of Warm Creek.
June 27th - Thursday
51 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to a cooler 68 degrees which is a lot better for watching grizzlies. I watched a golden eagle north of the Institute this morning. At 5:15 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench. This is a good place for grizzlies to dig most of the year, but the first one seen there in about a month. At 5:35 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging in the Bell. At 5:40 a.m. a grizzly digging on the skyline on the top of A-Z Meadow. At 5:50 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year digging in the Bowl. It has been days since we have seen this grizzly family. They were in view digging often in bare ground for a long time this morning, At 6:05 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three yearling cubs to the northeast of the Institute. About this time 1479F was seen on in the river corridor with 907F moving to the east (I only got to see 1479F). At 6:25 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year low in the Bell. A little later the small colorful grizzly seen in the Bell earlier was run off by the sow with two cubs of the year still in the Bell. At 7:00 a.m. Gary G found a large grizzly digging in the first skyline clearing east of Penny Lane. It remained in sight for about thirty minutes. At 7:15 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year in the same area that Gary had them yesterday, northeast of Pebble Creek viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 9:15 a.m. Kristina G called with a small grizzly digging on the #2 finger on Norris. We were at Footbridge Pullout and could not see it so had to move to Soda Butte Middle Pullout. At 9:30 a.m. another grizzly seen northeast of Pebble Creek viewed from Soda Butte Center Pullout, the sow with two cubs of the year were not in view at this time. At 11:10 a.m. I found a courting pair of grizzlies on the first skyline clearing east of Penny Lane. Real late for courting pairs but they are still out and about.
June 28th - Friday
36 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to a nice 66 degrees with afternoon wind again. At 4:55 a.m. we found the large dark grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench in front of a bison herd, the bison did not seem to mind. At 6:15 a.m. Gary G, on his last day in the park, found a small colorful grizzly north of Trashcan Pullout. It disappeared from where we were watching it near the Institute where Gary spotted it, so we went to Trashcan to see it. At 6;25 a.m. I found a grizzly sow with two cubs of the year in the high clearing behind K Meadow viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 6:35 a.m. Gary G found a small grizzly digging on the #1 finger on Norris. At 7:35 a.m. Doug M found the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year high on A-Z Meadow. A brief sighting but they reappeared later for better viewing. At 8:15 a.m. I found a nice sized grizzly digging on Penny Lane. It was viewed a few times this morning always on Penny Lane. At 8:25 a.m. I found what I thought was a courting pair of grizzlies on the first skyline clearing east of Penny Lane. A tourist asked to see them and said there were four grizzlies in the scope. What we had was a large dark grizzly with two cubs of the year and a small colorful grizzly that was at least one year old. Never seen anything like this before. Kyle stopped by and was puzzled at what we watched. I tried to see this family (?) throughout the day without success. I have two more days left in the park and hope to view them again. At 1:50 p.m. a small colorful grizzly was digging on the #3 finger on Norris; it was out again at 4:50 p.m.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Kristina G, and Taylor R. From Washington: Larry and Linda R. From Oregon: Bill and Karen M. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Wyoming: Tom H and Sandi R. And From Montana: Doug M. Others seen this report: From Montana: Michael S, Kate J, Cliff B, Evan S, Bob L, Mike S, Debbie M, Hunter G, and Nathan V. From Vermont: John K. And From Florida: Bill 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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