Yellowstone National Park 2020 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
17 through 24 June 2020
Yellowstone National Park
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~ June 2020 ~
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Wednesday - June 17th
43 degrees this morning warming up to 59 degrees and rain. The Bear Tooth Highway was closed again today. The big news today was that the Junction Butte wolf pack moved their puppies up and over the hill. At 5:30 a.m. I had a grizzly above the snow on Ski Slope. At 6:30 a.m. Richard R found two large sub adult grizzlies north of the Institute. We had several sightings of these grizzlies, appeared to be 4 or 5-year-old bears, tall and lanky like a pair of boars, cannot explain that. At 6:50 a.m. the grizzly sow with two coys were on Penny Lane viewed from the Confluence. At 7:00 a.m. Randi M found a small colorful grizzly on Druid Peak from Picnic Pullout. At 8:15 a.m. the small colorful grizzly was north of Picnic Area. At 11:15 a.m. we had a black collared wolf south of Picnic viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 11:50 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings was above the snow cornices. At 2:15 p.m. Randi M found a grizzly high north of Straight-away Pullout. At 3:15 p.m. we had a black bear in the Salad Bowl moving east. At 4:30 p.m. I spotted a black bear south end of Junction Butte. At 5:10 p.m. we had a large grizzly on the backside of Specimen Ridge viewed from Elk Creek. At 8:00 p.m. we watched a grizzly in the Bowl from Midpoint. At 8:15 p.m. the Slough Creek sow with two two-year olds were seen northeast of the Institute. At 8:30 p.m. I found a black bear high in Square Meadow.
Thursday - June 18th
40 degrees this morning warming up to 62 degrees. I had a badger run across the road in front of me today. At 5:35 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings was on Ski Slope. At 5:40 a.m. I spotted a black bear and a cinnamon black bear in the tree line behind the big meadow behind the east end of Jasper Bench. At 6:00 a.m. the grizzly sow with two two-year olds were spotted north of the Institute. At 6:20 a.m. Rick H found a grizzly digging north of the pullouts of Dorothy's and Coyote. At 7:45 a.m. a black bear sow with one coy were in the tree line south of the Institute. At 8:45 a.m. the grizzly with two coys were in a clearing between Dead Puppy Hill and the # 1 finger on Norris. At 12:15 p.m. Richard R found the two large sub adult grizzlies north of Picnic Area. At 5:10 p.m. Margaret L found the small colorful grizzly on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 6:45 p.m. I spotted a large grizzly on the skyline on A-Z Meadow viewed from the Institute.
Friday - June 19th
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30 degrees with frost on the car this morning warming up to 67 degrees. I saw Ruddy ducks at Floating Island Lake today. At 5:35 a.m. Randi M found a courting pair of grizzlies north of Coyote Overlook. At 5:55 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings were on Ski Slope. At 6:25 a.m. a small colorful grizzly was on the # 2 finger on Norris. At 7:10 a.m. a collared black wolf and a gray wolf were seen south of Midpoint Pullout. At 7:15 a.m. Randi H found a large grizzly in the Bowl. At 8:35 a.m. Randi M found a tall grizzly in the clearing east of Penny Lane. At 9:20 a.m. Randi M found the grizzly sow with two coys on the # 3 finger on Norris. At 10:30 a.m. Richard R found the small colorful grizzly high south of the # 1 finger on Norris. At 10:45 a.m. the Slough Creek sow grizzly with two two-year olds were on Druid Peak. At 11:20 a.m. we had a black bear at the Yellowstone River Bridge. At 3:45 p.m. Randi M found a courting pair of grizzlies north of Coyote Overlook viewed from Long Pullout (the boar appeared to be really large). At 4:05 p.m. Richard R found a grizzly in the clearing behind and east of the courting pair viewed from Long Pullout. At 4:10 p.m. we had a black and a cinnamon black bear north of Long Pullout. At 6:45 p.m. a black wolf was seen south of Hubbard Hill. At 8:25 p.m. I spotted a large dark grizzly on Calfee viewed from the Confluence.
Saturday - June 20th
36 degrees this morning warming up to 70 degrees. I had a fox just off the road this morning near Warm Springs. At 5:40 a.m. Richard R found two grizzlies wrestling on the skyline in the clearing just east of Penny Lane. At 6:00 a.m. Richard R found a courting pair of grizzlies north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:20 a.m. we had a small grizzly in the Bowl. At 9:15 a.m. we had a third grizzly north of Picnic Pullout just below Druid Peak. At 6:20 a.m. we watched a small colorful grizzly near the snow cornices. At 8:00 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly high near the snow cornices (the small colorful grizzly ran off a few minutes before the large dark grizzly came into view). At 9:00 a.m. Richard R found a small colorful grizzly high on Druid Peak. At 9:40 a.m. the grizzly sow with two coys were back on Penny Lane. At 12:00 noon the grizzly sow with two yearlings was on the ridge south of Ski Slope viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 1:45 p.m. Rita R found a small colorful grizzly on Calfee from Trashcan Pullout. At 3:45 p.m. Joe and Jean L found a grizzly in the Aspen Drainage high above Slough Creek. At 7:00 p.m. we had a black bear sow with one coy in the tree line south of the Institute. At 7:45 p.m. a black bear was in Round Prairie. At 7:50 p.m. I found a cinnamon black bear at Lower Barronette.
Sunday - June 21st
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45 degrees with light rain this morning warming up to 67 degrees. A new bison carcass was found south of Old Road Pullout just west of the Institute. I had a golden eagle near the Confluence today. At 6:10 a.m. the grizzly sow with two coys were on Norris viewed from the Confluence. At 6:30 a.m. Richard R found the grizzly sow with two yearlings on a meadow south of Ski Slope. At 7:00 a.m. Richard R found a grizzly on Middle Ridge in Crystal Drainage viewed from Lamar Canyon West. At 7:15 a.m. four black and one gray wolves were seen hunting bison calves in Crystal Drainage. At 7:25 a.m. Rita R found the two now sub adults from the Slough Creek sow in the Slough Bowl. The Slough Creek sow was really late going into courting, I was beginning to think she might keep them a rare third year. At 8:55 a.m. I spotted a black bear high south of the # 1 finger on Norris. At 9:45 a.m. Emil found a large grizzly north of YES Pullout. At 10:00 a.m. we had a small colorful grizzly on Druid Peak viewed from the Institute. At 10:15 a.m. I found a dark grizzly in the Bowl traveling to the east. At 12:00 noon a grizzly was spotted near the snow cornices. At 12:40 p.m. Richard R found a large cinnamon black bear high north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:15 p.m. we had a black bear on the south side of Junction Butte. At 6:25 p.m. we watched a courting pair of grizzlies high north of Coyote Overlook viewed from Long Pullout (later seen by others north of the Old Road Pullout waiting to cross the road to the bison carcass). At 7:15 p.m. five black and one gray wolves were south of Midpoint. At 8:00 p.m. a black bear sow with two light cinnamon coys was spotted on the # 4 finger on Norris.
Monday - June 22nd
38 degrees this morning warming up to a warm 77 degrees. I watched western tanagers, red breasted nuthatches and a golden eagle today. On my way out of the park tonight I had a bull moose in Round Prairie. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 4:55 a.m. I spotted two grizzlies, one on and one close to the new bison carcass south of Old Road Pullout. It was a courting pair with the large boar having an injury on the right side on his abdomen and the sow was the Slough Creek sow I believe, now courting (no longer with the two two-year olds). A little strange as the boar did not share the bison carcass with the sow, but I expected that they were on the carcass all night and the sow appeared to want to get farther away from the road. At 4:55 a.m. 1047M the alpha male of the Junction Butte pack was bedded waiting for the grizzlies to leave the bison carcass. At 5:20 a.m. two black wolves were seen south of Midpoint Pullout. At 6:05 a.m. Richard R found a grizzly high on the skyline east of Druid Peak. At 7:00 a.m. we had a gray wolf near the new bison carcass south of Old Road Pullout. At 7:45 a.m. we had a large grizzly above the Diagonal Forest in Slough Creek. At 8:00 a.m. Tanner H found a second grizzly following the first grizzly high above the Diagonal Forest. Not sure what was going on, as the first and leading grizzly was quite a bit larger than the second following grizzly, both adult grizzlies. At 9:00 a.m. we had a brown grizzly north of Coyote Overlook. At 9:10 a.m. the Slough Creek sub adults were seen north of Coyote Overlook. At 9:15 a.m. two black wolves were seen on the Northern Divide Ridge heading west. At 12:10 p.m. a large black bear was seen near the far west end of the Soda Butte Creek Bridge. At 6:50 p.m. I spotted a grizzly high above Coyote Overlook viewed from Long Pullout.
Tuesday - June 23rd
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38 degrees this morning warming up to 83 degrees. Every day this year I have been noticing a bumper crop of Unita ground squirrels. More squirrels this year then I can remember. This time of year, as the squirrels get run over on the road others enter the cannibal phase of summer and eat the dead squirrels. Often several squirrel carcasses near the original carcass as they also met their end. I had a bull moose in downtown Silver Gate tonight. At 4:55 a.m. nine black and two gray wolves were around the bison carcass south of Old Road Pullout. At 5:35 a.m. I spotted a courting pair of grizzlies moving north between Dorothy's and Coyote Pullouts on the north side (assume the Slough Creek sow with the big boar, probably just left the carcass before first light). At 5:40 a.m. a black uncollared wolf was spotted northeast of Coyote Overlook. At 6:10 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings were in K Meadow. At 4:30 p.m. I found a large dark grizzly north of Coyote Overlook from Straight-away Pullout in Little America. At 6:00 p.m. I found four grizzlies on the snow cornices. The light is poor looking that way in the evenings, but they were all on the snow. All adult grizzlies, two were wrestle playing while the other two sat and watched. After about fifteen minutes they all left together going over the skyline to the west. At 7:00 p.m. we had two black bears high above the Diagonal Forest in Slough Creek. At 7:20 p.m. Margaret L found a small colorful grizzly on Penny Lane. At 8:05 p.m. I spotted a grizzly in the Bowl below little tree/big tree.
Wednesday - June 24th
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43 degrees this morning warming up to 80 degrees. The high hills are drying out this time of year. Junction Butte for example is almost brown now. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:10 a.m. I spotted a black wolf on Jasper Bench. At 5:35 a.m. I found a grizzly digging in the Bowl viewed from the Institute. At 5:50 a.m. we had a small colorful grizzly on Penny Lane viewed from the Confluence. At 6:00 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings were on K-2 Meadow. At 7:35 a.m. we had a small colorful grizzly on the skyline north of Coyote Overlook. At 8:30 a.m. we had a black wolf on the bison carcass south of Old Road Pullout. At 3:00 p.m. we watched a light cinnamon black bear at Lamar River Bridge. At 8:45 p.m. the grizzly sow with two coys were on Norris viewed from the Confluence.
Other People (non-wolf and bear watchers)
From Montana: George and Jenny B, Bob L, Pete B, Emil M, Evan S, Cara M, Carl S, Jim H, Taylor B, Chris H, MacNeil L, Grant, Ken S, Nathan V, Cliff B, Dan and Cindy H, and Jan and Leo. From Vermont: John K. From the Netherlands: Jort V. From Idaho: Don and Jane S. From Wyoming: Dick P and Ross G. From California: Bill W, and Mark M. From Colorado: Brian A, and John and Anne W.
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