Yellowstone National Park 2019 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
29 March thru 01 April 2019 - Yellowstone National Park
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~ March 2019 ~
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Friday - March 29th
35 degrees in Gardiner but 28 degrees on the Blacktail Plateau warming up to 40 degrees. I had four coyotes at Slough Creek, a pair of sand hill cranes also at Slough Creek and four vultures flying over Hellroaring today. At 9:30 a.m. Evan S found a grizzly on a winter kill bison carcass at Slough Creek. It was still in view when I walked down to Bob's Knob. The griz was going up the Lion Meadow then over to the Horizontal Forest.
Saturday - March 30th
25 degrees in Gardiner but only 14 degrees on the Blacktail Plateau warming up to 40 degrees today. It was sunny with no clouds all day. I had a fox near Tower Junction today. At 6:50 p.m. a grizzly returned to Junction Lake viewed from Elk Creek. A brief sighting as once it crosses the lake from the east it disappears behind a little hill just this side of the lake.
Sunday - March 31st
28 degrees this morning at Gardiner but only 14 degrees on the Blacktail Plateau warming up to 46 degrees. I had several coyotes today and the sandhill cranes are back in Slough Creek. Two moose bedded at the Confluence this afternoon. An immature bald eagle caught and killed a red tailed hawk this afternoon at Soda Butte East pullout. The bald eagle is across the river south of Coyote Overlook. I saw my first marmot of the year at Lamar Canyon East Pullout. Friends Rob and Karen M showed me a gyrfalcon this afternoon. At 6:30 a.m. I walked down to Bob's Knob with Russ K and found a big grizzly on the winter kill bison carcass. We heard howling and just the other side of the Slough Creek all eleven Junction Butte wolves were bedded waiting for the grizzly to leave. We had about fifteen minutes until the bear decided to leave. The wolves surrounded it half way to the Lion Meadow but that ended as soon as the grizzly sat down. The grizzly traveled up the Lion Meadow disappearing over the hill behind the Slough Creek Den. Now all the wolves went to eat at the carcass. Around 9:00 a.m. Evan S found another grizzly coming in from the west. It encountered a bull bison on his way in and moved out of sight behind some rocks and was not seen again. At about 4:00 p.m. the wolves left Slough going high and west. At 5:00 p.m. I found them on Junction Lake again.
~ April 2019 ~
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Monday - April 1st
28 degrees in Gardiner this morning and 24 degrees at Slough Creek warming up to 46 degrees. Everything from Hellroaring all the way to Round Prairie was fogged in this morning. It rained last night in Gardiner and we had one inch of new snow everywhere high today. I saw seven coyotes in Slough Creek this morning and three moose at the Confluence. At daylight I walked out to Bob's Knob and through the fog saw the grizzly on the winter kill bison carcass. He was in sight for about 40 minutes. He spent a lot of time eating and burying the carcass prior to his leaving. He left once but returned for a few more bites. He seemed to sense something to the west but I never found what he sensed. He must have smelled us, as then the crowd was growing, and he ran off into the fog heading for the Horizontal Forest. I stayed until 9:30 a.m. watching only coyotes on and around the carcass. Apparently the Junction Butte wolves came to the carcass later. At 4:00 p.m. I walked back down to Bob's Knob and viewed eight of the eleven Junctions (all were there somewhere).
Other News
Yesterday Bob L watched a grizzly come from the north to the Blacktail Ponds. It tested the ponds and moved on going up the hill to the north. There are closed signs on the upside hill from Geode Creek. Apparently a black bear denned right off the road last fall. The Lamar Canyon wolves have a collared wolf - 1197F collared by Wyoming is now with Little T (apparently pregnant), Small Dot, and one black pup. All the wolves in this pack are black.
People Seen
People seen this Report: Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Amy T, Jeremy S, Ilona P, and Melba C. From the UK: Alan and Kirsty P. From Arizona: Reve and Susan . From Mississippi: Chuck and Wynelle M. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Montana:; Mike and Kathy W, Jack G, and Chuck and Debbie. Others seen this report: From Montana: Evan S, Carl S, Cliff B, Grant, Reggie and Linda C, Emil M, Russ K, Ken S, Nathan V, Bob L, Rick E, Leo L, and Steve B. From the Netherlands: Jort V, From Idaho: Rob and Karen M. From Washington: Nick and Diane L.
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Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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| Yellowstone Geyser and Thermal Videos | |
|---|---|
| Beehive Geyser Eruption | Old Faithful with Bison |
| Beehive Geyser Eruption Two | Pocket Basin |
| Fan and Mortar | Roaring Mountain |
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| Entrance Cities and Gateway Towns | |||
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| Links | |
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| The Great Outdoors Net | Great Outdoor Recreational Places |
| Gardiner, Montana | West Yellowstone, Montana |
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