Yellowstone National Park 2017 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
12 through 14 May 2017
~ May 2017 ~
Friday - May 12th
52 degrees in Gardiner and 37 degrees in Lamar Valley this morning warming up to a warm 72 degrees. At 5:30 a.m. Ralph N found a courting pair of grizzlies on the second sliver of Ski Slope viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 5:35 a.m. I found a large black bear moving across A-Z Meadow from west to east. This was a large black bear and he took his time going across the meadow. At 5:40 a.m. we had a dark grizzly moving west on the big meadow behind the eastern part of Jasper Bench. At 5:55 a.m. we watched a small grizzly digging in the old Druid Rendezvous area viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 6:15 a.m. we noticed a grizzly was leaving the old elk carcass in the Soda Butte Creek near Hitching Post viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 7:00 a.m. Evan S of Wild Side called with a grizzly in the big meadow behind Jasper Bench. This grizzly was also moving to the west. At 7:00 a.m. I spotted a small grizzly digging in the upper part of the big meadow behind Jasper Bench. This grizzly stayed out for quite a while. At 7:10 a.m. Evan S called again with a nice sized dark grizzly near the tree line south of Picnic Pullout. We were watching from near the Institute but some friends were watching from Picnic Pullout. The grizzly had come upon a bison cow with new calf The cow lead the calf into a small ravine and came out of the ravine to check on the grizzly. The grizzly had moved around and charged into the ravine killing the calf. The grizzly tied to carry the calf out of the ravine to the trees but the cow came back. Now the dead calf was in the ravine with the cow above the ravine to watch the grizzly. The grizzly tried different approaches to the ravine, often standing up to access the position of the cow. One time the bison cow had had enough and charged the grizzly chasing it for over one hundred yards at full speed. The bison cow got in close enough to butt the grizzly twice during the chase. The grizzly retired to the trees and when the cow eased up her protection towards evening the grizzly came and ate the calf. At 7:50 a.m. Bonnie from Wild Side called with five black and one gray Mollie's wolves south of Trash Can Pullout. They were just out of the trees and milled around a bit. The collared gray 1013 was limping this morning. At 8:20 a.m. I moved to Footbridge to check out the fingers on Norris for bears when I heard howling to the northeast. Three of four of the Lamar Canyon wolves were howling. They soon moved back into the trees towards the den area. I did not get a good look but assume Little T was the missing wolf today, she was due to have puppies on May 5th. At 9:20 a.m. Dave H found a courting pair of grizzlies north of Fisherman's Pullout from Picnic Area. A long ways to watch, but no other pullout would let us view them. At 9:45 a.m. thru 12:00 noon Randi M found a new grizzly family group. A sow with two two year old cubs in A-Z Meadow viewed from Coyote Overlook. The first hour they remained bedded in a large snowbank. After a hour they got up and moved around a bit. It was obvious the sow was trying to run off the cubs and the cubs knew this. They moved along with the sow but never too close. John G and Randi M did see them later in the afternoon still in A-Z Meadow. At 2:10 p.m. I was heading in early to do laundry I came across a large bear jam west of Boulder Pond Pullout. The grizzly sow and yearling that had been on Junction Butte was thirty yards from the road and trying to cross. I left before the jam got huge, but John G and Randi did see her on the south side of the road later in the afternoon.
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Saturday - May 13th
44 degrees in Gardiner and 39 degrees in Lamar Valley warming up to a windy 55 degrees. At 5:21 a.m. I found a dark grizzly north of Coyote Overlook. It was in view for quite a while it visited the old winter killed bison carcass in the flats to the north. At 5:40 a.m. Ralph N found five Junction Butte wolves on Amethyst Bench. Today's groups was four blacks and one gray. The blacks were 996M, 1047M, 1048M, and a black adult; the gray was 969F. At 5:50 a.m. Ralph found more wolves in the old Druid Rendezvous area. These were the Mollie's wolf pack consisting of five black (watching from Coyote Overlook we only saw four blacks) and one collared gray. Unknown to us at this time was that the Mollies had made a kill south of Trash Can Pullout. While the Mollies laid around the carcass the Junction Butte pack attacked. The Mollie's scattered while the Junction Butte wolves remained in one group. One black yearling paused a little too long and the Junction Butte wolves caught him throwing it into the air. The Mollie's black headed for the river, but was bit several times below it jumped into the river. The black Mollie was bleeding from its stomach as it came out of the river and bedded between the river and the road. The other Mollies split up. At 8:40 a.m. Bob and Nell found two black wolves on the top of K Meadow heading to the south and home. At 5:50 a.m. John G found two grizzlies running above the trees to the Lamar Canyon viewed from Coyote Overlook. Later a larger single was seen in the same area running. It was the sow with two two year old cubs with mom still trying to run them off. At 6:25 a.m. Ralph N found the small blond grizzly in the deadfall near Square Meadow. At 6:25 a.m. a car pulled into Coyote Overlook from the west declaring a black wolf had swam the river and was seen to the south and west. Soon we found it north of the road, a black wolf with a bad limp. It went north and over a hill and out of sight, but reappeared on a top ridge and bedded for good viewing for over thirty minutes. This wolf was either a Mollie who also got hurt in the fight, or the limping black that was not in the pack today. At 6:50 a.m. we had a grizzly near the skyline north of Coyote Overlook moving up hill. At 8:00 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly in the bowl, a large clearing south and west of the Institute. It was in view for only a couple of minutes. At 11:00 a.m. we saw a gray wolf going into the den at Slough Creek. At 2:45 p.m. I spotted a small grizzly going west just across the river from the west side of the Confluence. It was heading west towards the carcass, but instead moved south into the tree line. At 5:30 p.m. we had a small colorful grizzly high on the Middle Ridge from the Slough Creek restroom. At 5:45 p.m. a second wolf was found bedded at the Sage Den at Slough Creek.
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Sunday - May 14th
39 degrees this morning in Gardiner and 29 degrees in Lamar Canyon warming up to 50 degrees with a harsh wind. At 5:25 a.m. I found a courting pair of grizzlies on the Amethyst Bench. At 6:00 a.m. Ralph N found the Junction Butte wolves on Jasper Bench. This mornings group was five blacks (I only saw four) and a gray. The same group as yesterday with the addition of the limping black yearling that was with them this morning. At 6:30 a.m. John G found a grizzly on the top of Specimen Ridge viewed from the Slough Creek restroom. At 6:40 a.m. John G found a grizzly walking fast in a high clearing south and west in Slough Creek. At 6:45 a.m. at least two of five gray pups came out of their den. No adult wolves around as the pups came out on there own. At 8:15 a.m. the wounded black wolf was standing south and east of Trash Can. At 7:30 a.m. a black Mollie wolf was near the old Druid Rendezvous area. At 9:00 a.m. a friend waved me into the Coyote Overlook. He had a light colored grizzly south of Fisherman's Pullout. John G said this was the sow from the family of sow and two two year old from yesterday. At 9:05 a.m. I found a courting pair of grizzlies on the Divide Ridge from Coyote Overlook. Ralph N had watched them from the Slough Creek side but they came over for good viewing from Coyote Overlook. At 9:30 a.m. Ralph had the grizzly sow with one yearling on the Peregrines from Straightaway. They must of crossed the road back to the north last night. At 9:40 a.m. Ralph showed me where a grizzly family was spotted earlier this morning The courting pair of grizzlies were north of Coyote Overlook and viewed from Little America.
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People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Lizzie C, Alan and Sue O, Josh A, and Dan and Laurie L. From California: Bob and Nell H. From Idaho: Craig C, Ray L and Kathy, Warren and Natalie B. From Wyoming: Larry and Linda H. From Iowa: Jim and Joellyn B. From Utah: Jerry and Julia C, Denny and Pam D. From Colorado: Mark and Carol R, and Ric and Kathy T. From Oklahoma: Robert and Pam W. Bear Watchers: From Wyoming: Richard and Rita R. From Utah: Dave H and Marc H, Dean and Jeri D with family members. From Ohio: Jim and Twyla E. From Washington: John G, and Randi M. From Montana: Ralph N, Sarah W, Mike and Kathy W. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Oklahoma: Paul S. From Indiana: Jeff and Terry. From Idaho: Emmet and Vicky.; From Texas: Carl L, and Carol S, From Missouri: Fred and Linda. From Illinois: Chicago Bob and Margaret. From Minnesota: Virgil and Marlene S. From Colorado: Ed A. and from the Midwest: Bob A, Steve S, Mark S, and Gary. Others: From Montana: Tonya M, Emil, Jim H, Linda T, George B, Pete B, Bob L, Ken T, Cliff B, and Evan S. From Oregon: Dale and Elva P. From Colorado: Jim and Bobbie F. From Arizona: David and Phyllis. From Utah: Josh S. and lastly from Utah: Bob B.
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Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
