Yellowstone National Park 2022 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

8th through 11th May 2022
Yellowstone National Park

~ May 2022 ~

Sunday - May 8th

28 degrees this morning with one inch of snow on the car in Silver Gate warming up to 47 degrees. This must have been the last good week of snowmobiling as dozens of snowmobilers were traveling to and from Cooke City for the weekend. The big rotary snowplows have started now on the Chief Joseph Road to Cody and later the Beartooth Highway. At 5:35 a.m. I spotted a large dark grizzly on Amethyst Bench. It slowly moved west, and we guessed it might try to cross the road between the pullouts of Dorothy's and Coyote, but it traveled further to the west, and someone later told us it swam the Lamar River in the canyon and did cross the road to the north. At 6:45 a.m. I found two grizzlies traveling together in the sagebrush behind Hitching Post Pullout from Footbridge Pullout. They were about eighty yards or so and closing they soon joined up for a seven-to-ten-minute wrestling match. Then they traveled up Dead Puppy Hill and met up with a bison and a new calf. A standoff at ten feet was broken when the bison cow charged the bears. The grizzlies wanted no part of an angry cow bison and moved on. They separated and traveled to the east. Later Paul S watched them back together. Although the boar was only slightly larger than the sow, because the grizzlies were both adult grizzlies, we assumed they were a courting pair, but not quite ready. At 7:15 a.m. Randi M found a black collared Junction Butte wolf south of Footbridge Pullout traveling to the west. At 7:40 a.m. I found a large grizzly north of Picnic Pullout near the skyline traveling east. A brief sighting that only a few got to see. At 7:50 a.m. John G who came late to see the large grizzly found a small colorful grizzly digging north of Picnic. At 8:20 a.m. Richard R found two black wolves in Crystal Drainage from the Slough Creek restroom. 907F and 1276F are sharing (I guess) a den in Crystal Drainage best viewed from Crystal Pullout but some things can be seen from the Slough Creek restroom, closer at the restroom but better views from Crystal Pullout. At 8:35 a.m. another black wolf was spotted near the den in Crystal Drainage. At 8:45 a.m. Frank H called with a grizzly in the Lion Meadow in Slough Creek. At 8:50 a.m. I found a grizzly running down the hill on Specimen Ridge. It took a nose plant in the snow but kept coming down hill. It then chased a herd of bison and then bedded for a while with a black wolf nearby before moving out of sight. At 10:00 a.m. John G found a black wolf along the riverbank south of Fisherman's Pullout. At 1:20 p.m. Jeff B found the Middle Ridge sow grizzly with two yearlings on Specimen Ridge. A nice long sighting and viewing. At 12:45 p.m. Frank H showed me a gray wolf bedded on the porch of the natal den in Slough Creek. At 3:15 p.m. we had a black bear sow with one yearling black cub at the east end of Phantom Lake (I think this family denned in the curvet under the road).

Monday - May 9th

27 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 38 degrees. I had a badger at Hitching Post this morning and two vultures flying around. At 7:45 a.m. John G found what we believe are a courting pair digging in a clearing across the river from the Soda Butte Cone. They were digging and moving around very little, getting quite a bit to eat. At 9:15 a.m. Kevin M found a colorful grizzly in the Slough Bowl viewed from the Slough Creek restroom as well as several spots up to and including Lamar Canyon West Pullout. A really pretty bear who disappeared after an hour but then returned to dig and be in sight again. At 6:30 p.m. a black wolf bedded near the Crystal Den. That made a THREE DOG DAY for me today.

Tuesday - May 10th

18 degrees this morning in Silver Gate with frost on the windows warming up to 41 degrees out in the park. I had two vultures again flying in Lamar Valley today. At 7:25 a.m. l spotted the Middle Ridge grizzly sow with two yearlings above the Crystal Creek den area moving up hill. Good viewing until they crested the hill and went out of sight. At 7:30 a.m. we had three black wolves and one gray wolf in the Crystal den area. At 8:00 a.m. Doug M found a large grizzly near the skyline on the Northern Divide Ridge viewed from Dorothy's. After I left the wolf research plane came over and spooked the grizzly out of sight. At 9:00 a.m. Chris H found the courting pair (we think) south of the Soda Butte East Pullout on the south side of the road and river. Later Ken C reported them more to the east being south of Trout Lake. At 10:35 a.m. Doug M called with a grizzly near the Tower Ranger Station. I got brief looks at him and moved to the west for other things When I returned the grizzly had crossed the road to the north and Ed S had him just off the road digging. At 12:45 p.m. the two 3 1/2-year-old sub adults were back out this time .25 mile west of Amethyst Bench. Apparently, they had been out for a while as most of us bear watchers were to the west. At 2:30 p.m. Randi M found a small colorful grizzly from Lamar Canyon West. When it went out of sight, we moved to Slough Creek to continue to watch it. At 3:00 p.m. we had a black bear south of Lamar Canyon West. At 4:30 p.m. we saw a cinnamon black bear east of the Yellowstone River Picnic area. At 5:10 p.m. two separate black bears from Hellroaring Pullout east of the basalt cliff one found by Dave H, and one found by me. At 6:10 p.m. Wes W had a nice grizzly traveling west behind the eastern end of Jasper Bench, and the clearing behind.

Wednesday - May 11th

24 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 59 degrees in the park with cold winds in the afternoon. We felt an earthquake this morning about 7:30 a.m. I thought someone was pushing around my car. It was a 4.2 magnitude earthquake ninety-one miles north of Jackson, Wyoming. I had two moose by Pebble Creek Campground on the way back to Silver Gate this evening. At 6:40 a.m. Frank H called with a dark grizzly in the meadow just across the Lamar River viewed from Slough Creek restroom. It was a large grizzly moving away into the tree line to the south. At 6:45 a.m. John G found a second medium sized colorful grizzly digging in the meadow behind Crystal Rock. After I left a tourist/hiker approached the grizzly and the grizzly retreated into the tree line. That area is now closed, but the man said he did not see the signs. At 6:50 a.m. we had a black wolf in the general area of 907F's den in Crustal Drainage. At 7:20 a.m. Evan S found a grizzly in the large clearing south and east of Jasper Bench. A little digging but mostly moving to the east. At 7:50 a.m. we watched a large black bear grazing in the tree line south of Midpoint Pullout. At 8:15 a.m. Chris C called with a medium sized colorful grizzly grazing north of Soda Butte East pullout. At short distance and a long-time sighting before it moved out of sight. At 9:45 a.m. Wayne K called with the two 3 1/2-year-old grizzly sub adults again south of Midpoint Pullout. We were worried as this morning they were digging in two spots about four hundred yards apart. But this afternoon they were again digging close together. At 10:00 a.m. Richard R found a small black bear near A-Z clearing viewed from Hubbard Hill. At 11:00 a.m. we had the Middle Ridge grizzly sow without the cubs digging on Middle Ridge with good views from the Slough Creek restroom. At 4:00 p.m. with Rob M and Karyn de K’s help I watched a black and a gray puppy at the natal den in Slough Creek. At 4:15 p.m. the wolves around the den were on alert and soon they chased a black bear up a tree in the western tree forest by the den. After a few minutes, the two gray and three black wolves lost interest and the black bear made its escape.

People Seen

Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Janice and Cindy H, Rick M, Doug M, Taylor B, and Jeremy S. From Colorado: Karol B, and Mark and Carol R. From Missouri: Frank H. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. From Utah: Paul H, Denny and Pam D, and CD and Brenda C. From Wisconsin: John and Marie E. From Switzerland: Peter D. From Washington: David and Stephanie O. From California: Bill W. From Idaho: Ray L and Kathy, and Roger and Lynda S. From Texas: Carl L and Carol S. And from Pennsylvania: Jack D. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Washington: John G, Randi M, and Steve and Cindy L. From Wyoming: Richard and Rita R. From Georgia: Chris C. From Florida: Ken C. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, and Dave H. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Virginia: Big John. From Colorado: Bob P, Rick and Len H, and Dennis R. From Montana: Jeff B and Kathy M, Doug M, and Shari S. From Ohio: Jim and Twyla E. From Oklahoma: Paul S. From Idaho: Marc H, and Jennings and Carma S. From Illinois: Wayne and Maryann K. Others seen this report: From Montana: Shauna B, Mike S, Cliff B, Michael S, Evan S, Bob L, Audra C, and Grant J. From Wyoming: Kevin M. From Vermont: John K. From Massachusetts: Ed S. From Indiana: Jeff and Terry B. From Idaho: Rob M and Karyn de K. And from Colorado: Jim and Bobbie F.

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park