Yellowstone National Park 2021 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
01 through 04 April 2021
Yellowstone National Park
~ April 2021 ~
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Thursday - April 1st
29 degrees in Gardiner but 13 degrees in Lamar Valley this morning warming up to 52 degrees. I viewed my first red tailed hawk in Yellowstone today. I also had a golden eagle today. At 6:45 a.m. we had a black collared wolf on the elk carcass south of Midpoint Pullout in Lamar Valley. At 7:50 a.m. eleven black wolves and six gray wolves of the Junction Butte pack bedded across the Lamar River corridor viewed from Boulder Pullout in the same place they were yesterday. Around 9:30 a.m. they got up and moved to the east coming to a stop near the Marge Simpson Tree in Slough Creek where they bedded for the rest of the day. I did have a THREE DOG DAY today.
Friday - April 2nd
38 degrees in Gardiner but 29 degrees at Hellroaring this morning warming up to 58 degrees. I saw my first sandhill crane today in Yellowstone. We also had a bull moose with about one inch long anthers bedded across from Elk Creek today. At 7:45 a.m. the Junction Butte wolves were found this side of Hellroaring Creek from Upper Hellroaring Pullout. Bedded at first, they eventually got up and proceeded to hunt bison with no success. I counted fifteen of the pack before they moved west and out of sight. At 1:30 p.m. Mac Neil L. found a black bear on Garnett Hill near the old Fish Den viewed from Elk Creek. To my knowledge the first black bear seen in Yellowstone this spring.
Saturday - April 3rd
34 degrees in Gardiner but 25 degrees at Slough Creek this morning warming up to a warm 62 degrees. There were three moose bedded today in Elk Creek. At 7:45 a.m. the Junction Butte wolves were found near Little Cottonwood Drainage west of Hellroaring. Most watchers moved to Geode Creek and up the hill or watch, some moved to the Perch. I arrived late and stayed at Lower Hellroaring and with good directions from Reve and Susan I located five black and one gray wolf high in the snow. Others counted 13 today and had some chasing elk without success. At 1:30 p.m. the black bear was out again on Garnett Hill viewed from the dirt pullout at Elk Creek. I watched it for over two hours, and it was bedded the full time. You would think an animal that just got up from five months of sleep would not want to nap.
Sunday - April 4th
43 degrees in Gardiner but 34 degrees at Hellroaring this morning warming up to 61 degrees. At 7:20 a.m. we watched thirteen black and seven gray Junction Butte wolves hunting bison on the slopes of Hellroaring. They singled out a bison and many wolves grabbed on to it, but the bison herd came back to drive off the wolves. They bedded later out of sight. At 8:15 a.m. sixteen of the Wapiti Lake pack which included the white alpha female returned to the week-old bull bison carcass near Petrified Tree Pullout (see map). Great close viewing for a lot of the morning. Mid-morning a few bedded over the hill and out of sight, however, we watched them most of the day from Elk Creek Pullout. They were still there at 5:00 p.m. this evening.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Don V, Reve and Susan, Janice and Cindy H, Joe K, and Ron and Linda. From Utah: Paul H. From Michigan: Dan and Susan W. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Montana: Doug M, Margaret L, Jack G, Linda K, and Greg, Tracie, Kyle and Tyler R. Others seen this report: From Montana: Quinn H, Cara M, Cliff B, Bob L, Dan and Cindy H, MacNeil L, Chris H, Grant J, Audra C, Amy T, and Ashea T. From Iowa: Jim B. From the Netherlands: Jort V. Colorado: Jim and Bobbie F.
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Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
| Yellowstone National Park Trip Reports | |||
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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 |
| Grand Geyser | Rocket and Grotto |
| Old Faithful One | West Thumb |
| Yellowstone Waterfall Videos | ||
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| Lower Falls | Tower Fall | Wraith Falls |
| Yellowstone National Park WebCams | |||||||
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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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardiner, Montana | Silver Gate, Montana | West Yellowstone, Montana | Cooke City, Montana |
| Livingston, Montana | Cody, Wyoming | Jackson Hole, Wyoming | Yellowstone National Park |
| Links | |
|---|---|
| The Great Outdoors Net | Great Outdoor Recreational Places |
| Gardiner, Montana | West Yellowstone, Montana |
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