Yellowstone National Park 2021 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

06 through 09 June 2021
Yellowstone National Park

~ June 2021 ~

Sunday - June 6th

46 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to a nice 76 degrees. I had a big cow moose near the Northeast Entrance this evening. At 5:30 a.m. I found a grizzly digging in the Bowl viewed from the Institute. It was out for quite a while sometimes being seen at the top of A-Z Meadow as well as in the Bowl. At 5:55 a.m. Wayne K found the Middle Ridge grizzly sow with two cubs of the year (coys) on Specimen Ridge viewed from Lamar Canyon West. The grizzly family was in and out of view for most of the day mainly being watched from Lamar Canyon West or Slough Creek. At 6:15 a.m. Taylor B found the Specimen Ridge grizzly family on the west end of Specimen Ridge viewed from Boulder Pond Pullout. This family was also in and out of view at different times of the day. At 7:00 a.m. Richard and Rita found a small grizzly in a small meadow before the Snow Cornice viewed from Footbridge Pullout. We think that this grizzly was one of the two 2 ½ year old sub adults that have been in the area for the past couple of days. At 2:00 p.m. one black adult wolf and one black puppy were seen at the Slough Creek Den. At 5:30 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear in a meadow above the tree line to the south in Little America. At 6:40 p.m. my last sighting for the day was a large cinnamon black bear southwest of Fisherman's Pullout viewed from Coyote Overlook.

Monday - June 7th

48 degrees this morning in Silver Gate but only 37 degrees in Lamar Valley this morning warming up to the low 70's. While watching for grizzlies at the Institute this morning Rita R found a moose in Bear Meadow of all the strange places for a moose. Kathie L showed me my first antelope fawn north of Hitching Post this afternoon. On the way home tonight I saw a golden eagle on the ground just off the road at the Confluence. At 5:20 a.m. I found the Specimen Ridge grizzly family on Specimen Ridge viewed at first from Coyote Overlook but much better from Lamar Canyon West. They were in and out of view most of the morning. At 5:35 a.m. I found a grizzly hunting elk calves in the meadow just east of the Bell viewed from the Institute. At 6:00 a.m. Richard and Rita found a medium sized brown grizzly north of Coyote Overlook. At 6:30 a.m. the Middle Ridge grizzly sow with two coys were found on the west side of Middle Ridge best viewed from Crystal Pullout in Little America but later from Slough Creek and later yet watched from Lamar Canyon West. This family was in and out of view most of the day. At 7:20 a.m. two black adult wolves and one black and one gray puppy were in view at the Slough Creek den area. At 1:55 p.m. I finally saw the new grizzly sow with two coys north in Little America that John G had found, and Randi M and Wayne K had watched this morning. John G found them from Lamar Canyon West looking over the rock formation west of the Slough Creek den area. This afternoon John G found them in the large "aspen" drainage that runs north above the Slough Creek den. This was the first time we had seen this family, which now makes five grizzly sows with two coys each seen from Little America thru Lamar Valley. (It could be argued that they were the Druid Peak sow with two coys that has not been seen in a couple of weeks, but I am guessing a new family). At 3:30 p.m. I watched four gray and two black puppies play king of the boulder on a big rock near the Slough Creek den.

Tuesday - June 8th

51 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to the mid 70's with a nice afternoon thundershower. At 5:20 a.m. I found the Middle Ridge grizzly sow with two coys on Middle Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook. Much better viewing at Lamar Canyon West. At 5:35 a.m. Randi M found a medium sized grizzly hunting elk calves north of Coyote Overlook. At 5:50 a.m. Richard and Rita R found a courting pair of grizzlies on Penny Lane. Good viewing from the Confluence, Hitching Post and Footbridge Pullouts for most of the morning. At 6:40 a.m. 1048M a black male of the Junction Butte pack was seen near Amethyst Bench from the Institute. At 7:30 a.m. we had a large cinnamon black bear across the Lamar River from Lamar Canyon West Pullout. At 8:20 a.m. we watched a black bear on Specimen Ridge viewed from Long Pullout. At 9:50 a.m. we had a black wolf moving east south of the Confluence. At 10:00 a.m. I found a black bear sow with two brown coys south of the # 1 finger on Norris. At 10:15 a.m. we watched a cinnamon black bear near the top of the # 1 finger on Norris. At 5:20 p.m. two black and two gray adult wolves and three gray and two black puppies were seen outside the Slough Creek den. At 7:20 p.m. I found two equal sized grizzlies high above Coyote Overlook from Crystal Pullout in Little America. They were milling around in heavy sagebrush so could not tell much about them.

Wednesday - June 9th

36 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 82 degrees. I had a THREE DOG DAY TODAY. At 5:30 a.m. Brad B from Kentucky told me about two grizzlies viewed from 300 yards west of Coyote Overlook. It was a courting pair of grizzlies with the boar no bigger than the sow. At 5:45 a.m. I found a medium sized grizzly north of the pullouts of Dorothy's and Coyote. At 6:10 a.m. Richard and Rita R found two grizzlies digging above the snow cornice on Ski Slope. The light was really poor, and we assumed a courting pair or two sub adults but could not tell. At 6:20 a.m. Doug M (wolf watcher) found the Middle Ridge grizzly sow with two coys on Middle Ridge. At 6:35 a.m. 1275M a black wolf was seen south of the Institute. At 10:00 a.m. Evan S had the courting pair of grizzlies on Penny Lane. Randi and I arrived but had to wait for one hour until they reappeared. At 4:00 p.m. Paul H and I found two sets of grizzlies on Middle Ridge. Both the Specimen Ridge Family and the Middle Ridge family both with two coys were visible at the same time. At 4:30 p.m. two black and one gray adult with two gray and one black puppy were seen at the Slough Creek Den.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park