Yellowstone National Park 2021 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

13 through 16 May 2021
Yellowstone National Park

~ May 2021 ~

Thursay - May 13th

31 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to a warm 66 degrees. I had a fox on the road into the park this morning and a fox on the road tonight returning to Silver Gate. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:55 a.m. Rita R found a nice grizzly digging north of Fisherman's Pullout viewed from Dorothy's Pullout. This grizzly was in sight for almost three hours before disappearing over the ridge heading for Crystal Drainage. At 7:00 a.m. John B and Paul S had part of the grizzly family in a small clearing under K-2 Meadow. One had the sow and one cub of the year (coy) and the other had two coys. When I arrived, it was down to viewing the two coys. Soon however the sow grizzly returned, and we watched the entire family. They were out again several times in the morning and early afternoon. At 7:45 a.m. Frank H had a very large grizzly just east of the Horizontal Forest in Slough Creek. This grizzly walked slow and was a very large grizzly. At 8:15 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two coys again on Middle Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook. This morning they were high enough on the Middle Ridge to be seen from Coyote and Fisherman's Pullouts too. Late this afternoon they had moved to a clearing on Specimen Ridge. At 8:20 a.m. two black wolves were seen on the west end of Jasper Bench slowly moving to the west. At 9:30 a.m. we had a black bear in the big clearing behind the eastern end of Jasper Bench. This bear was unusually colored, and some thought it was a grizzly, but was a black bear. At 1:15 p.m. a black wolf was on the Slough Creek den porch who then moved to the Western Trees. At 2:00 p.m. John G found a third set of coys in the northern range. In a high clearing north and east of Footbridge a grizzly sow with two coys were in sight for well over an hour. At 4:10 p.m. 907F the mother wolf was in the Natal Den at Slough Creek then came out of the den and posed for five minutes before bedding. At least two black puppies and one gray puppy were seen under 907F. At 7:15 p.m. I spotted a black bear in the tree line south and east of Picnic Pullout near the Western Foothill.

Friday - May 14th

37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 61degrees. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:30 a.m. John G found a large colorful grizzly crossing Amethyst Bench going to the west. This was unusual as most large grizzlies do not have the light coloring that this grizzly had. At 6:10 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two coys again on K-2 Meadow. Good viewing with the morning light. The family was out again this evening again in K-2 Meadow. At 6:20 a.m. I found a dark grizzly in the tree line east of Chalcedony Drainage digging. At 6:20 a.m. a black wolf crossed west to east on the south side of Footbridge Pullout. At 7:00 a.m. a large grizzly was seen digging southwest of Fisherman's Pullout. He was in sight for over an hour. At 7:00 a.m. we had a black wolf hunting bison calves south of Fisherman's. At 7:00 a.m. the grizzly sow with two coys were again on Middle Ridge viewed from Dorothy's, Coyote or Fisherman's Pullouts. They moved over the hill, so we went to Slough Creek to watch them. Around 9:00 a.m. John G found a bedded grizzly on the same ridge as the grizzly coy family. We guessed it had a carcass or some sort. Only about 400 yards from the grizzly coy family, apparently neither noticed the other. But at 9:45 a.m. the grizzly got up and she also had two coys. We watched both families of grizzlies both with two coys for almost another hour in the same clearing. That now makes four coy families we have located in the Slough / Lamar area. At 12:15 p.m. Randi M made a great spot on the grizzly sow with two coys northeast of Footbridge. Tonight, we viewed the sow with two coys again to the northeast of Footbridge Pullout and also from Footbridge watched the grizzly sow with two coys on K-2 Meadow. At 4:30 p.m. we had a black bear in the meadow behind the eastern end of Jasper Bench. At 5:00 p.m. we had a black bear in the tree line south of Picnic Pullout. At 6:00 p.m. my last sighting for the day was a large black bear near the tree line east of Chalcedony Drainage.

Saturday - May 15th

37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 65 degrees. At 5:15 a.m. John G found a dark grizzly low north of Coyote Overlook. It moved slowly uphill, and we got a better look as the light improved. At 5:25 p.m. John G found two grizzlies northeast of Coyote Overlook. Originally separated by a couple hundred yards they got together and began to dig. It was the 3 1/2-year-old Slough Creek sub adults who are still hanging together. At 6:30 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two coys again on K-2 Meadow. They were a little higher on the clearing today and were more in view. The last few days they were right above the tree line and often behind trees. At 6:35 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two coys northeast of Footbridge Pullout. They were back in the original clearing John G found them in two days ago. At 6:50 a.m. John G found a grizzly sow with two yearlings on #3 finger on Norris. So now we were watching nine different grizzlies from the parking lot of Footbridge Pullout. We stopped several times during the day to check out what was in sight from Footbridge and every time at least one grizzly family was in view. At 5:10 p.m. all three grizzlies were again families in view. At 8:00 a.m. Frank H and Richard and Rita found both grizzlies families each with two coys on Middle Ridge from Slough Creek. Just as yesterday one set fed higher on the ridge and moved to the west. The second family was again bedded, and it took a while for the sow to move to show off the two coys. The first family moved west and out of sight first then much later the second family moved out of sight. John G and Randi M did locate the second family later on Specimen Ridge. At 8:45 a.m. three black wolves were seen in the area for a fresh carcass which was probably a bison east of the Horizontal Forest and above the willows in Slough Creek. At 9:30 a.m. John B showed me a black bear family with two coys (the sow was black, one cub black and the second a lighter black). At 9:35 a.m. I had a brief sighting of a grizzly high north of Coyote Overlook viewed from Long Pullout. He crossed a snowbank and post holed down its face once. At 10:50 a.m. Bruce P had a blond medium sized grizzly (5-6 year old) in Soda Butte Valley. Actually, Bruce had been watching it for a couple of hours before I arrived to get a look at it. It started east of Soda Butte East and traveled west on the north side of the road to almost Footbridge Pullout before it disappeared. At 12:45 p.m. a black bear sow with one yearling cub were in a small clearing above Amethyst Bench across from the Institute.

Sunday - May 16th

37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 73 degrees. I had a cow and yearling moose near the Wyoming State Line around noon. At 5:50 a.m. I found a grizzly sow with two yearlings briefly on the right ledge on the Snow Cornice. At 6:45 a.m. Doug M found the grizzly sow with two coys on Middle Ridge viewed from Slough Creek, they were out again around 6:00 p.m. At 7:20 a.m. I found the two Slough Creek sub adults northeast of Coyote Overlook, they remained in sight for hours. At 7:50 a.m. I found the sow grizzly with two coys on K-2 Meadow. At 8:10 a.m. Bruce found a medium sized grizzly on Finger #1 on Norris. This grizzly was out most of the day moving between Finger #1 and Finger #3. At 8;30 a.m. John G found the grizzly sow with two coys again northeast of Footbridge Pullout. At 4:30 p.m. I found a black bear sow with two coys on Finger #3, one black and one brown. At 5:15 p.m. two black wolves were seen this side of the Lamar River southwest of Dorothy's Pullout hunting bison calves. At 6:00 p.m. one gray and one black adult wolves were at the den plus one black and one gray puppy all at the Slough Creek Den. At 6:30 p.m. Cole G found a large black bear in the tree line west of Chalcedony Drainage viewed from Footbridge Pullout.

People Seen

People seen this report: Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Don V, Doug M, Taylor B, Wendy B, and Chloe F and Becky C. From Missouri: Frank H. From Utah: Paul H, Denny and Pam D, and Jerry and Julia C. From Colorado: Karol B. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Idaho Ray L and Kathy. From California: Joe. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Washington: John B, John G, Randi M, and Hank L. From Arizona: Gene and Margaret. From Utah: Dave H. From Wyoming: Richard and Rita R, and Terri W. From Montana: Alan C, Scott M, Margaret L, Mike and Kathy W and Doug M. From Wisconsin: Don L. From Oklahoma: Paul S. From Illinois: Frank and Cole G. From Idaho: Kim and Carrie, Kim C, Jennings and Carma S. and Marc C. And From Ohio: Jim and Twyla E. Others seen this report: From Montana: Grant J, Nathan V, Evan S. MacNeil L, Bob L, Will S, and Cliff B. From Colorado: Jim and Bobbie F, and Brian and Diane A. From Vermont: John K and Beth, From Wyoming: Kevin M, and Ross G. From Iowa: Jim B. From Indiana: Jeff and Terry B. and From Arizona: David and Phyllis.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park