Yellowstone National Park 2018 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
02 through 05 April 2018 - Yellowstone National Park
~ April 2018 ~
Monday - April 2nd
Today was a snow day. Snowing all day with bad roads and about 6 inches of snow at Hellroaring. With the snow we had low visibility all day except an hour window around noon. I returned to Gardiner about 9:30 a.m. but headed back out when the weather cleared for about one hour. I got to Hellroaring and watched the grizzly on the bison carcass for a while (day 6). I had two swans flying by at Hellroaring, and a large moose at the S Curve at Blacktail. No wolves were seen in the park today.
Tuesday - April 3rd
18 degrees this morning in Gardiner but 10 degrees at Hellroaring warming up to a high of 30 degrees. I had a moose near the Soda Butte Cone this morning. Three equal sized river otters were at the confluence this morning for almost one hour. And two moose at S Curve at Blacktail on my way out of the park in the afternoon. At 6:35 a.m. the grizzly was on the bison carcass at Hellroaring (day 7). At 7:45 a.m. two black uncollared wolves on Middle Ridge south of the Slough Creek restroom. Doug M (wolf watcher) made a great spot to find them from Elk Creek. The wolf people did not know who the wolves were, my guess the Mollies Pack. At 10:30 a.m. all three Lamar Canyon wolves were north of Mid Point in Lamar Valley. The current lineup for the pack is 926F black female formerly the alpha, Little T, 926F's daughter black and now the alpha female, and Small Dot a black alpha male. At 12:20 p m. the small black bear with the raised back was north of the Confluence East eating away.
Wednesday - April 4th
33 degrees in Gardiner but 28 degrees in Little America warming up to a high of 46 degrees. I saw a flock of black rosy finches at Phantom Lake on my way home tonight. At 7:45 a.m. three black wolves of the Junction Butte pack bedded near the den at Slough Creek. Later in the morning I found wolves 969F and 907F also in the area. It is looking good that the Junction Butte pack may den there this summer. No bears for me today. Richard and Rita did have a black bear near the Fish Den at Garnet Hill today.
Thursday - April 5th
43 degrees in Gardiner this morning but 36 degrees on the Blacktail warming up to 46 degrees. The last two days quite a bit of snow has melted, but lots remain. At 7:00 a.m. I found two black and one gray wolf moving fast to the west at Hellroaring. The wolf watchers moved to Lower Hellroaring and found these wolves. It ended up being the Junction Butte wolves, all eight (I saw only three) were present. At 11:00 a.m. I found the black bear near the Fish Den on Garnet Hill. At 1:30 p.m. I found another black bear about 200 yards west of the Fish Den in the same spot that Rita and Richard found it a few days ago.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Melba C, Chuck and Wynette M and Ilona P. From Michigan: Sue R. From California: Bob and Nell H. From the Netherlands: Jort V. From Canada: Jeff A. Bear Watchers: From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Wyoming: Richard and Rita R. From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C. From Montana: Doug M. Others seen this report: From Montana: Bob L, Cliff B, Bonnie M, Leo L, Carl S, Nathan V, Sue and Alan O, Dan, Cindy, and Kelly H, George B, and MacNeil L. Others seen: From Utah: Bob B.
Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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Yellowstone Geyser and Thermal Videos | |
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Beehive Geyser Eruption | Old Faithful with Bison |
Beehive Geyser Eruption Two | Pocket Basin |
Fan and Mortar | Roaring Mountain |
Grand Geyser | Rocket and Grotto |
Old Faithful One | West Thumb |
Yellowstone Waterfall Videos | ||
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Cave Falls | Mesa Falls | Undine Falls |
Gibbon Falls | Rustic Falls | Upper Falls |
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Old Faithful Live | All Old Faithful | Old Faithful Static | Old Faithful VC | North Entrance | Mt Washburn | Mammoth | YVO WebCam |
Entrance Cities and Gateway Towns | |||
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Gardiner, Montana | Silver Gate, Montana | West Yellowstone, Montana | Cooke City, Montana |
Livingston, Montana | Cody, Wyoming | Jackson Hole, Wyoming | Yellowstone National Park |
Links | |
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The Great Outdoors Net | Great Outdoor Recreational Places |
Gardiner, Montana | West Yellowstone, Montana |