Yellowstone National Park 2015 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

02 through 03 July 2015

~ July 2015 ~

Thursday - 02 July

This is probably the last Yellowstone trip report until late September. The large amount of tourists in the park and bison on the roads coupled with the hot weather means bear watching in the first and last hour or two now. Also the biting flies showed up this trip. 64 degrees at 2:45 a.m. in Idaho Falls as I left for the park, but a cool 39 degrees in Hayden Valley warming to a hot 86 degrees. I had two foxes in Idaho and one in the park on my way up this morning. At 5:50 a.m. I spotted a medium sized light grizzly on the south side of Alum Creek (it was out until 7:45 a.m.). At 5:55 a.m. I found a dark grizzly on the north side of Alum Creek near the tree line that soon disappeared into the trees. At 6:00 a.m. I spotted a small dark grizzly west in Alum Creek quite far back, but it moved pretty close to the road before I left for Lamar Valley around 8:00 a.m. At 10:00 a.m. I found a black wolf on Honeymoon Clearing at Antelope Creek with something in its mouth. A lot of high grass in Honeymoon Clearing and I could not confirm a collar, although both black wolves in the Junction Butte pack are collared. At 7:30 p.m. a black yearling wolf crossed the road from north to south near 21's crossing west of Hitching Post. I was at Footbridge so did not see it until it was quite a ways south. From 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. we had the four males: Twin, Mottled, Dark Black and 965M moving from the east end of Dead Puppy Hill going east, I lost them south of Soda Butte Middle Pullout around 9:00 p.m.

Friday - 03 July

A warm 49 degrees before daylight this morning. I had a mule deer with twin fawns near the Tower Store Parking lot this morning. At 6:00 a.m. I spotted three black wolves briefly north and east of Footbridge Pullout. At 7:45 am. I found a colorful grizzly in the tree line to the west in Alum Creek. At 7:50 a.m. I found a dark small grizzly close to Alum Creek about 400 yards from the road (might have been the same grizzly as yesterday morning). At 8:05 a.m. I spotted a small tall collared grizzly just off the road near Trout Creek. I decided to make this a short trip, bought breakfast at Canyon and was back in Idaho Falls by noon.

People Seen

Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Barb M, and Lizzie C. From Colorado: Jeremy S with family members. Bear Watchers: From Idaho: Sydney H. From Arkansas: Jerry C. Others seen: From Montana: MacNeil L and Nathan V.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park