Yellowstone National Park 2015 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

05 through 08 April 2015

~ April 2015 ~

Sunday - 05 April

28 degrees this morning with snow early warming up to 43 degrees. Every morning we are watching five trumpeter swans in Slough Creek. Starting about 8:30 a.m. we have five grays and four black wolves of the Prospect Peak pack north of coyote overlook. They had killed an elk (actually a collared elk), but the site was out of sight, but usually one or more were wandering around or bedded in sight. At 10:00 a.m. I found a grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench for about 40 minutes. At 11:00 a.m. I found a grizzly digging/grazing low in salad bowl viewed from coyote overlook. At 4:00 p.m. we had a black bear in a clearing near #9's old den in Little America. At 4:20 p.m. someone told me about a small grizzly near Yellowstone Picnic area, a young grizzly got close to the road, about 50 yards, and after I left it crossed the road and reappeared near Wrecker Pullout. At 5:45 p.m. I noticed some elk running near the Basalt Cliffs at Hellroaring Overlook. Scott from Blackfoot was there and we both looked for the reason. First we could not re-find the elk, but both of us located a very small and colorful grizzly that came down for a play and drink in the pond before climbing up and around the Basalt Cliff and out of sight.

Monday - 06 April

28 degrees this stormy morning warming to 40 degrees. At 9:00 a.m. the wolf people found six of Prospect Peak pack bedded near the diagonal forest in Slough Creek (the alpha female 821F looking pregnant and 763M were there). At 11:00 a.m. the wolf people located all seven of the Junction Butte pack heading east near the creek actually passing the Prospect Peak sleeping wolves that were one half mile uphill. At 2:00 p.m. Bob B. located a bear in a small clearing in the trees below Specimen Ridge. We finally guessed it was a black bear. At 3:00 p.m. we had a grizzly digging near the mixed conifer/aspen forest in Slough Creek, best view from Aspen Pullout.

Tuesday - 07 April

A cold 18 degrees this morning warming up to 53 degrees. We had a cow and calf moose near Floating Island Lake this morning. At 7:30 a.m. the wolf people found the Mollies north of coyote overlook checking out the Prospect Peak's kill from Sunday. Nine black and three gray wolves were visible on and off, best viewed when they went out of sight to the west. At 9:00 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly in the Lion Meadow in Slough Creek viewed from Dave's Hill. The grizzly moved east passing the horizontal forest before going out of sight At 2:30 p.m. I watched 926F the alpha female of the Lamar Canyon pack and twin a visiting male from the Prospect Peak pack on a bighorn sheep carcass at the confluence (50 yards from the road - we viewed from Hitching Post). Not sure if the wolves killed it or a mountain lion (about two weeks ago another bighorn ram that was a mountain lion kill was located yards away from this recent kill). At 3:45 p.m. I spotted a grizzly digging just west of the Crystal Creek drainage, viewed from Slough Creek. At 5:30 p.m. I found a black, a light gray and a dark gray wolf at Hellroaring Overlook (I believe they were park of the Prospect Peak pack).

Wednesday - 08 April

24 degrees this morning warming to a nice 50 degrees (note: the forecast was for 70% snow and a high of 36). I had a coyote, a unita ground squirrel and several marmots (my first squirrel and marmot, but others have been seeing them for a couple of weeks), One grizzly this morning in Crystal Creek Drainage was all I found today. Others had wolves in Little America and Lamar but I did not see them.

People Seen

Wolf Watchers: from Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Amy T, Peter M, Melba, and Dan and Laurie L. From the United Kingdom: Sian J and Alan and Kristy P. Bear Watchers: Scott and Peggy from Idaho. Others: Cole W from California, MacNeil L, Steve B, Cliff B, Ken T, and Dan and Cindy H. From Utah Bob B. And from Oregon: Dale and Elva P.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park