Yellowstone National Park 2015 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

07 through 10 May 2015

~ May 2015 ~

Thursday - 07 May

34 degrees, raining and snowing this morning warming up to a high of 39 degrees. Low clouds until noon made looking for grizzlies impossible. I left around 3:00 p.m. for an appointment in Mammoth, so I actually found no grizzlies at all today. I did have a cow and last year's calf moose in Round Prairie. At 7:30 a.m. Twin, the black male now with the Lamar Canyon Pack crossed the road just west of the Institute. At 8:35 a.m. 926F crossed the road near Hubbard Hill, and then tried to dig out a coyote den. The female coyote was in the den, so 926F's efforts were in vain. Both wolves returned to a carcass that was south and west of the Institute, that they knew was there and they must have been eating on it during the night. Later the female coyote, with the male coyote standing guard, moved her four pups across the road to the north. Now good viewing from Midpoint Pullout. At 2:00 p.m. I found a black bear in the meadow below A-Z Meadow viewed from Dorothy's Knoll.

Friday - 08 May

33 degrees this morning warming up to 46 degrees. At 5:50 a.m. Ralph found a dark grizzly on a carcass he had located on Thursday in the bowl north and east of the Slough Creek bathroom. Also at 5:50 a.m. we saw 890M the beta male and the gray un-collared yearling of the Junction Butte pack near the carcass. When the grizzly did leave, the wolves moved in to the carcass. At 6:15 a.m. I spotted a large dark grizzly in the rendezvous area moving to the tree line to the south. At 6:50 a.m. Ralph found a large light brown grizzly digging south of the Soda Butte Cone. At 8:15 a.m. Scarface surfaced again at Straight-away Pullout, then crossed the road to the north and went up and over the west Peregrine Hill. This was exactly the place where he was last seen on Saturday--we guessed he made a trip towards Antelope Creek for a few days. Scarface later appeared in Slough Creek and crossed that road near the grader/gravel pullout then proceeded and was seen on the carcass in the bowl towards evening. At 8:25 a.m. I found a cinnamon black bear in Crystal Draining. At 8:45 a.m. we had a cinnamon black bear comes to the carcass in the bowl north and east of the Slough Creek bathroom. At 10:00 a.m. we watched a small colorful grizzly in K-2 Meadow. We staked out Footbridge for a lot of the day attempting to locate the grizzly sow with two coy's John G and Randi had yesterday on the #3 finger of Norris. At 1:15 p.m. Anne W called with a large black bear on the western end of Round Prairie. At 4:40 p.m. a black bear south and west of the confluence in the tree line. Around 3:00 p.m. the small colorful grizzly from K-2 showed up in K Meadow. At 4:50 a.m. I found a black bear south of Picnic Area. At 5:50 p.m. we had a grizzly high north of Coyote Overlook viewed from Long Pullout in Little America. At 6:30 p.m. Ralph had the black bear with one black coy (cub of the year) above the road west of Rick's Pullout viewed from Elk Creek. The coy was up a 15 foot broken off tree entertaining itself while mama grazed for dinner.

Saturday - 09 May

32 degrees this morning warming up to a cold 49 degrees with a cold wind. I had a bull moose in Elk Creek on the way home tonight. At 5:45 a.m. Scarface returned to the carcass in the bowl north and east of the Slough Creek bathroom. This afternoon he was back in Lamar this side of the river moving to the east. At 6:00 a.m. I found a grizzly moving south from the Institute viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 6:10 a.m. Randi found another grizzly in the river corridor this one moving north towards the road. We moved east to the confluence pullout to check out the grizzly. We discovered a second grizzly on a carcass south of confluence pullout. The first grizzly must have left the carcass and the second one came in after the first one left. After a while the second grizzly crossed the road near all the cars going north. At 7:40 a.m. we had the courting pair of grizzlies in Little America south of the road near Straight-away Pullout. MacNeil L. had them early and closer at Aspen Pullout where the sow was encouraging the boar. At 8:30 a.m. we found a grizzly high in A-Z Meadow, later John G and Randi had it in the bowl south and west of the Institute still heading south. At 10:00 a.m. I spotted two black bears south of the #1 finger of Norris (I guessed a courting pair but could have been a sow and a yearling cub). At 10:45 a.m. we had a black bear south of the Institute in the tree line. At 11:00 a.m. I found the two sub adult grizzlies were back this time in the Square Meadow south of the Institute best viewed from Dorothy's Pullout. At 5:40 p.m. the black bear with the two brown coys was under the Yellowstone River Bridge (I did not see the cubs who were up a tree out of sight). At 5:45 p.m. we had a large black boar just off the road just east of the Tower Junction. At 5:55 p.m. my last sightings for the day was a small cinnamon black bear just off the road at Elk Creek.

Sunday - 10 May

25 degrees this morning warming up to a chilly 52 degrees. I had a badger and a cow and calf moose today along with everything else. I hiked from Pebble Creek down to the Soda Butte Creek for an hour and one half today with John G, John B, and Randi. At 5:55 a.m. Randi founf a grizzly south of confluence pullout from Coyote Overlook. We later went to the east for a better look and discovered it was Scarface digging south of the road but north of the river. At 6:55 a.m. I found a small grizzly digging on the # 3 finger of Norris. Doug M (bear watcher) was out this morning and had a courting pair of grizzlies north between Coyote and Dorothy's Pullouts. When I arrived we also saw a large grizzly close to the courting pair. Soon they saw each other and ran away in opposite directions. The courting pair was in view for almost an hour. At 9:30 a.m. we had a cinnamon black bear with a brown yearling cub north of the Institute. At 3:50 p.m. I spotted two equal sized grizzlies in the high clearing behind Ski Slope viewed from Dorothy's Overlook. One was lighter that the other, but we did not determine their relationship. From 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. we had wolves 926F, Twin, and 965M south of Trash Can trying to get a bison calf. They tried to get the calf from a herd of five cow bison and one calf, but abandoned it after 20 minutes. Then moved to the east and found a single cow bison and a calf. For the next hour and a half they tried to get the calf. They had it down a couple of times but the cow fought well and then several other cow bison came to the rescue. When I left after 6:00 p.m. the calf was still standing and the wolves were taking a break. At 5:00 p.m. we had a large grizzly moved west to east in the tree line pass the three wolves and the bison calf standoff. At 6:20 p.m. a bear jam high on Tower Hill with the black sow and one black cub (I did not see the coy tonight). At 6:25 p.m. we had a large boar black bear at Floating Island Lake.

People Seen

Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, and Amy T. From Colorado: Anne W. From Oklahoma: Robert and Pam. From California: Bob and Nell, and Joe M. From Iowa: Jim and JoEllyn B. From Utah: Richard B, and Pam and Denny, and Jerry. and From Idaho: Rick E. Bear Watchers: From Indiana: Jeff and Terri. From Washington: John G, John B, and Randi, and David B. From Colorado: Ed A. From Utah: Dean and Terri D. From Montana: Ralph N, Jack G, and Doug M. From Ohio: Jim and Tywla E. Others: From Montana: MacNeil L, Carl S, Jim and Judy W, Ed and Ken T. and Deby D. From Pennsylvania: Ray and Darlene R. From Vermont: John K. From Ireland: Alwyn S. and people from Glacier: Steve and Charlotte H, Ron from Kentucky and Virgil and Walt. And from Utah: Bob B.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park