Yellowstone National Park 2016 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

08 through 11 April 2016

~ April 2016 ~

Friday - April 8th

30 degrees this morning warming to a nice 62 degrees.  At 6:05 a.m. a black wolf at Blacktail Ponds just before daylight.  At 6:45 a.m. eight members of the Junction Butte Wolf Pack (five gray and three black), on the bull elk carcass near the small diagonal forest in Slough Creek.  At 8:00 a.m. I spotted a grizzly north of Buffalo Ford viewed from Boulder Pullout.  Just after this we heard that the Canyon Wolf Pack was in sight over by the Blacktail Ponds.  This drive takes about 35 minutes so I assumed that they would be out of sight before I arrived.  I had not seen this pack in over two years so I gambled on the drive.  Surprise they were still in view at Blacktail Ponds, in fact they were going to try and cross the road back to the south.  The alpha female is almost white and eleven years old this spring, the alpha male is a aging black with lots of gray (collared 712M), and is also eleven years old this spring. One adult wolf, and two of last years pups round out this pack of five, the final three are two grays and one black.  My first unita ground squirrel was at Blacktail Ponds this morning, and soon they are out all the way up to Lamar Valley.  At 10:30 a.m. Linda H found a un-collared gray wolf bedded way to the south in Blacktail viewed from the Nature Trail.  At 11:20 a.m. I spotted my first black bears of the year, a black sow with two brown yearling cubs just east of the Yellowstone Picnic Area.

Saturday - April 9th

35 degrees this morning warming to a nice 65 degrees.  At 8:15 a.m. we had a grizzly south of the Institute traveling east.  At 9:20 a.m. I spotted a collared grizzly on the carcass in Slough Creek, but only on the carcass for 25 minutes.  From 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. we watched three of the Lamar Canyon wolves north of the Institute.  We found Little T crossing to the east, then for three hours 992M Twin and 993M Dark Black bedded in the sagebrush.  I had a THREE DOG DAY today.

Sunday - April 10th

40 degrees this morning warming up to the high 50's today.  At 7:45 a.m. we had a collared grizzly on the old bull elk carcass in Slough Creek.  At 9:35 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found a herd of elk bunched up in a tight circle, indication of a predator close by.  He soon located a bedded black wolf in the sagebrush above the basalt cliff viewed from Boulder Pullout.  At 11:50 a.m. I spotted a large black bear north of the Tower Ranger Station heading west. At 1:00 p.m. 992M Twin and 993M Dark Black were viewed north of Coyote Overlook in Lamar Valley.  At 3:00 p.m. heading in for a short day, the black bear sow with one black yearling cub was out just off the road at Phantom Lake (this is the bear Denning in the culvert under the road).

Monday - April 11th

33 degrees this morning warming up to 61 degrees, but was partly cloudy and breezy.  Jim F. found a pair of ospreys building a nest in the Lamar Canyon across the river.  At 8:30 a.m. Josh A called with a grizzly in the Slough Creek bowl north and east of the Slough Creek bathroom.  It turned out to be the collared grizzly we have watched on several carcasses in the last couple of weeks.  At 10:45 a.m. I was at Coyote Overlook and found a bison with some small animals near it.  I put the scope on it and wolves had the bison surrounded.  Looking closely I saw at least eight black wolves, so immediately knew that I had found the Mollies Wolf Pack.  The Mollies territory is usually the Pelican Valley in the central part of Yellowstone National Park.  But they venture north into the Lamar in the winter and occasionally in the spring.  All sixteen members were here this morning, eleven blacks and five grays.  Around 12:30 p.m. a large grizzly came out onto the Amethyst Bench south of the Institute.  Grizzlies always visit the bare portions of the bench in the spring and sometimes in the fall.  They dig lightly for what I am guessing may be earthworms.

People Seen

Wolf Watchers:  From Montana:  Rick M, Doug M, Lizzie C, Becky and Chloe, Josh A, and Melba C.  From Wyoming:  Larry and Linda H.  Bear Watchers:  From Montana:  Doug M, and Jack G.  Others:  From Montana:  Deby D, Jim H, Shari and Kate, Bob and Elizabeth, Frank and Kay, Ken T, Ted, Nathan V, Pete B, Alan and Sue O, Bob L, Michael L, and Ken and Marilynn.  From Colorado:  Jim and Bobbie F.  From Oregon:  Dave and Elva P.  From Utah:  Bob B.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park