Yellowstone National Park 2015 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

16 through 20 May 2015

~ May 2015 ~

Saturday - 16 May

34 degrees and snowing warming to 51 degrees. Long trip back to Yellowstone as a car in front of me went off the road. I waited with him, no injuries, but car tilted a lot so I gave him a coat to keep him warm and dry. At 2:15 p.m. I spotted a large grizzly grazing in the rendezvous area from Footbridge. At 2:20 p.m. I found a grizzly moving behind the first grizzly in the tree line. At 3:45 pm. we had a cinnamon black bear south of the Institute from Picnic Area. At 3:50 p.m. we watched a black bear south of Picnic area in the tree line. At 4:05 p.m. I spotted a sub adult grizzly just behind Square Meadow viewed from the Institute. At 4:25 p.m. I found a brown grizzly high on the east side of Salad Bowl. At 5:30 p.m. we watched a black bear near the golden eagle nest at Slough Creek. At 7:20 p.m. we had a small black bear south and east of Picnic in the tree line. At 7:30 p.m. I spotted a small grizzly in the tree line south of Midpoint. At 8:10 p.m. my last sighting for the day was a large brown black bear near Pebble Creek Campground.

Sunday - 17 May

37 degrees this morning warming up to 50 degrees. I walked up to Dead Puppy Hill today. At 5:45 a.m. I spotted a black bear south and east of the Institute in the tree line. At 6:00 a.m. I found two sub adult grizzlies south of the Institute in the tree line. At 6:20 a.m. we had a dark large grizzly in the rendezvous area, and later moved to Square Meadow. At 7:45 a.m. Scarface was 250 yards off the road at Confluence, he spent the entire day there - what a bear jam. At 10:10 a.m. we watched a large grizzly south of Straight-away in the tree line. At 11:00 a.m. I spotted a blond grizzly south of long pullout from Straight-away. From 12:00 noon to 2:15 p.m. 926F had a cow elk in the river corridor south of Hitching Post. She made several attempts at it, but it was still living at dark. At 7:20 p.m. my last sighting for the day was a small colorful grizzly below K Meadow viewed from Footbridge.

Monday - 18 May

35 degrees warming up to 55 degrees. I walked Peregrine Hills today with John G and Randi. At 5:25 a.m. Scarface was 200 yards south of the Confluence. He soon crossed the road to the north and went east, re-crossing the road to the south east of Footbridge Pullout then on east and out of sight. At 5:45 a.m. I spotted the two sub-adults south and east of the Institute. At 6:20 a.m. I found a large cinnamon black bear south of the Institute on Amethyst Bench. At 6:35 a.m. we had a large black bear south of Picnic from the Institute. At 7:00 a.m. the wolf known as Twin with a leg bone assembly travels to Dead Puppy Hill (the pack had killed the cow elk in the river corridor last night). At 7:30 a.m. we watched a dark grizzly on the top of Salad Bowl. At 7:30 a.m. we also watched a colorful grizzly in the bowl from the Institute. At 10:30 a.m. I spotted a black bear running in the A-Z Meadow. At 11:30 a.m. we had the black bear with the two black yearling cubs south of Peregrine Pullout. At 3:00 p.m. a repeat bear, the small colorful grizzly on Ski Slope. At 3:20 p.m. I spotted a large dark brown grizzly crosses above Jasper Bench west to east. At 4:55 p.m. two black wolves 970F and 890M and two gray wolves 911M and 969F were spotted high west of A-Z on the sky line. They came down to the river south of the Institute and disappeared going west from Fisherman's near dark. At 6:05 p.m. we had a black bear in Crystal Drainage. At 6:50 p.m. Twin, the black yearling, and 926F on the Cache Creek Trail heading away. At 7:00 p.m. I spotted a black bear south of the Institute. At 7:50 p.m. we watched a dark grizzly cross the clearing east of Square Meadow. At 8:45 p.m. we had a small colorful grizzly 100 yards off road just west of Thunderer.

Tuesday - 19 May

35 degrees and fog this morning warming up to 55 degrees. I spotted a nice fox today. At 7:15 a.m. I spotted a grizzly in the tree line south and west of Footbridge in the fog below K Meadow. At 7:30 a.m. I found a black bear on a carcass in the rendezvous area viewed from Trash Can. At 9:50 a.m. we had a colorful grizzly on the west finger of Ski Slope. Margaret P showed me my first elk calf of the spring today. At 4:00 p.m. we watched a grizzly sow with two cubs of the year (coys) on the # 3 finger of Norris. At 5:00 p.m. I spotted a large cinnamon and a small black bear on the #4 finger of Norris. At 5:10 p.m. I found a dark grizzly south and west of Footbridge. At 5:25 p.m. we had a large black bear south and west of Footbridge. At 6:10 p.m. we watched a large black bear high in the aspen drainage south of Slough Creek. At 7:40 p.m. wolves 926F, Twin, Mottled and the black yearling were south of Footbridge Pullout. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. And at 8:25 p.m. my last sighting for the day was a small colorful grizzly 100 yards off the road north and west of Thunderer.

Wednesday - 20 May

37 degrees warming into the 50's. A badger and a cow and last years calf spotted today. At 5:45 a.m. I spotted two black wolves on the second sliver of Ski Slope and later on Square Meadow and then they moved east. These were a couple of 926F's now yearling wolves that came back into the Lamar - for the day - one would rejoin the pack in a couple of days. At 6:10 a.m. 926F, Twin and the large yearling in the road at Mid-Point. The ranger had to move them off this morning. At 6:15 a.m. I spotted two good sized grizzlies in K Meadow. At 6:30 a.m. the grizzly sow and two coys were on the #3 finger of Norris. At 6:50 a.m. a grizzly in Secret Passage spotted by Ralph N from the Institute. At 7:10 a.m. we had a courting pair of grizzlies north of Picnic Area. At 8:00 a.m. a grizzly sow with three coys in Slough Creek down the dirt road near the gravel / grader pullout. At 9:05 a.m. we had a large grizzly south of Long Pullout with its nose to the ground, probably hunting elk calves. Ag 9:08 a.m. I spotted a large brown grizzly also south of Long Pullout. At 10:00 a.m. we watched a large cinnamon black bear south of Long Pullout in the tree line. At 10:35 a.m. we had a large blackfish bear on the Divide Ridge in Crystal Drainage from the Slough Creek bathroom. At 10:50 a.m. I spotted a sub-adult grizzly in the first ridge behind and south of Ski Slope. At 6:00 p.m. we had a black bear south and west of Footbridge in the tree line. At 8:00 p.m. we had wolf 890M of the Junction Butte in the Salad Bowl.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park