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Yellowstone National Park 2023 Trip Reports





Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

8 through 11 May 2023
Yellowstone National Park




Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney ~ All Rights Reserved

Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved


Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor


~ May 2023 ~





Yellowstone Grizzly Bear taken Spring 2014 ~ © Copyright John William Uhler All Rights Reserved

Monday - May 8th


36 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 57 degrees. Today they were grading the dirt Slough Creek Campground Road which they would open late today all the way down to the second restroom. Nice because of all the wolf action and crowds because of, now spread out nicely. The heavy snow removal equipment went by today going to open the road to Cody and to start on this end of the Beartooth Highway. At 6:20 a.m. Kevin M showed me a nice dark grizzly walking the length of Round Prairie. At 7:45 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly on the skyline south of Peregrine Pullout in Little America. The grizzly was in view for twenty minutes but at 4:30 p.m. it was in view from the Slough Creek restroom for another twenty minutes. At 8:40 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found a small grizzly crossing the road at Hubbard Hill from north to south. It was the 4 1/2-year-old sub adult grizzly who delighted the photographers staying on this side of the Lamar River for quite a long time before going back to Amethyst Bench. At 9:00 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one yearling cub on high Norris viewed first from Picnic Pullout but later and better from the Confluence. They wrestled and played for a while then back to business digging for breakfast. At 9:45 a.m. I found a grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs north of Picnic Pullout. Good viewing for a brief time but after I moved on the family visited the bison kill lower on the slope that the wolves had killed a day or two ago. At 10:30 a.m. with the help of David O from Slough Creek and Gary G from Coyote Overlook I viewed the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs on Specimen Ridge. They had been in view earlier by others, but the help was appreciated in finding them when I arrived. At 5:15 a.m. I visited Paul H at the Gravel Pullout down the Slough Creek Campground Road. He showed me the alpha male of the Junction Butte wolfpack bedded in front of his favorite tree in the eastern trees of the den area.


Tuesday - May 9th


36 degrees today in Silver Gate warming up to a nice 60 degrees out in the park. At 6:20 a.m. Randi M found the 4 1/2-year-old sub adult again on Amethyst Bench. It was out on and off most of the day and I watched it on my way past there at 5:00 p.m. too. At 7:45 a.m. Gary G made a good spot on the grizzly sow with two two year old cubs very low on the Divide Ridge viewed from Slough Creek. Dean D relocated them on Middle Ridge at 3:00 p.m. for a lot of good viewing. At 10:30 a.m. I viewed three gray and one black wolf going west from the Slough Creek den area. Please remember that I spend little time watching for the wolves and today most wolf watchers saw seven to eleven different wolves there. With me seeing the wolves I recorded a THREE DOG DAY today. At 10:35 a.m. Randi M found the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs northwest of the Slough Creek den in a high clearing. Good light this morning made for good viewing even at a long range. At 11:15 a.m. Kevin M showed me the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs in the willows south and between Hitching Post and Confluence East Pullouts. They had apparently crossed the road from north to south before going into the willows to dig.


Yellowstone Wolf ~ © Copyright All Rights Reserved Gerry Hogston

Wednesday - May 10th


26 degrees getting out of the sleeping bag this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 58 degrees out in the park. At 6:30 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly on a fresh bison carcass high on MIddle Ridge viewed from the Slough Creek restroom. This looked like the large dark grizzly from Monday. Also, at 6:30 a.m. Gary G noticed that the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs were downhill from the grizzly and the carcass waiting for the large grizzly to leave. The large dark grizzly did leave and the grizzly sow and both cubs got to the carcass a few times but were run off each time as the large dark grizzly would return. At 2:15 p.m. the grizzly family with both cubs again returned to the carcass for a good feeding. Earlier in the morning Doug M (wolf watcher) had seen a grizzly above the Slough Creek den. About 6:40 a.m. we finally located this grizzly in the large ravine east of the Slough Creek den area as he was moving away up hill and out of sight. At 7:00 a.m. we watched at least six wolves rally together for a few minutes before moving to bedding spots and some going back into the den. At around 7:20 a.m. Randi M made a great spot on the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs way east in the rocks below Yellow Grass Meadow in Slough Creek. Good viewing as they moved slowly to the west disappearing east of the Horizontal Forest and up into the trees. At 8:25 a.m. the 4 1/2-year-old sub adult grizzly was back on Amethyst Bench. Again, in and out of sight most of the day and I viewed her on my way past at 5:00 p.m. tonight she was southwest and on this side of the Lamar River and had a lot of people viewing her. At 8:30 a.m. I stopped to glass at Picnic Pullout and noticed a lot of elk bunched up and running to the north, It was the Shrimp Lake Pack, at least 1228F, one gray (not sure in the pup or the alpha male) and the black yearling. Quite a show as they chased back and forth chasing different elk. Both the elk and the wolves disappeared to the west so do not know how the hunt ended. At 9:25 a.m. after hearing that the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs had been again in the willows between Footbridge and Confluence East Pullouts I found them low in a clearing on Norris. Great light this morning and the grizzlies were all together and digging. Moving slowly to the south they remained in view for over two hours. The sow stopped and nursed the cubs and then they bedded for a long nap before disappearing over the hill and out of sight. At 10:30 a.m. I found a dark grizzly walking the tree line west to east southwest of the Confluence. At 3:00 p.m. several wolves came into the Slough Creek den area causing a gathering of at least six wolves. Most came in from the west, but a few came out of the Sage Den for a group meeting. I heard from the wolf watchers that 1276F may have replaced 907F as the alpha female. This is not unusual for the Junction Butte wolves. If the alpha is injured or something the second one moves up a notch. About 4:00 p.m. I found a black wolf high on Middle Ridge to the south. It traveled to the west but stayed low on the meadow never moving towards the bison carcass near the top of the meadow. About 4:15 p.m. we had a smaller dark grizzly come in from the east to the bison carcass high on Middle Ridge. Slowly at first it got the carcass to feed. He moved off once or twice but then ate on the carcass. After thirty minutes or so it ran off to the west. We never detected anything that caused the grizzly to run off. But the ravens and other birds all flocked back to the unguarded bison carcass.


Yellowstone Wolf Pup ~ © Copyright All Rights Reserved

 


Thursday - May 11th


37 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 59 degrees. I viewed a pair of Harlequin Ducks at the Confluence this afternoon. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 6:15 a.m. two gray and one black wolf were near the Slough Creek den site. At 6:30 a.m. a black bear was viewed in Crystal Drainage. At 6:45 a.m. we had another black bear viewed higher up in Crystal Drainage. At 7:30 a.m. Dean D found a large grizzly east of the Horizontal Forest in Slough Creek. Other spotters down the Slough Creek Campground Road had viewed the grizzly much closer but we viewed it from the main road. At 8:00 a.m. a sub adult grizzly was digging north of Picnic Pullout. This grizzly was out most of the day and I saw it again at 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. passing by. At 8:40 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly on a carcass straight south of Lamar Canyon East viewed from Footbridge Pullout. Jim and Amber showed me the carcass a week and a half ago and this was the first time a bear came to the carcass. Not seen by me but at 10:30 a.m. Hayden G had a grizzly sow with two cubs of the year cross the road in front of him going into thick timber near Hellroaring. At 11:00 a.m. a black bear visited the old carcass which had the colorful grizzly on earlier in the morning. At 12:15 a.m. Dean D found the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs returning to the Middle Ridge bison carcass which by now was pretty much gone, pulled down hill and spread out over a large area. When the grizzly family got to the carcass, they ran off a light-colored black wolf who did not come back into view again. Not seen by me but, at 12:18 p.m. Linda K watched three of the Shrimp Lake pack move through Round Prairie going east to west. Two grays and a black wolf were seen, but Linda did not notice a collar. At 2:10 p.m. Dean D (he found six of the eight grizzlies we had today) found a grizzly with what we believe was a yearling cub. Watched from Trashcan Pullout the family was on Calfee which is south of Norris Mountain and above four miles away. Only a brief view we could not decide if a yearling or a two-year-old, but think it was a yearling. At 2:45 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear northwest of Footbridge Pullout. At 5:45 p.m. we watched a large cinnamon black bear viewed north of Picnic Pullout.


People Seen


Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Doug M, Dan and Laurie L, Rick M, Jeremy S, and Ilona P. From Utah: Paul H, and Denny and Pam D. From Missouri: Frank H. From Mississippi: Chuck and Wynelle M. From Pennsylvania: Jack D. From Washington: David and Stephanie O, From Colorado: Bob P and Karol B. From Wyoming: Larry and Linda H. From California: Bill W. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Wyoming: Kevin M and Chris B. From Washington: Randi M and Steve and Linda L. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Montana: Doug M, Shari S, Linda K and Howard A. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, Doug and Hayden G, and Larry M. From Missouri: Fred and Linda. From Ohio: Jim and Twyla E And from Wisconsin: Don L. Others seen this report: From Montana: Michael S, Tonya M, Kate O, MacNeil L, Cliff B, Audra C, Quinn H, Chris H and Mike S. From Rhode Island: Mark L. From Virginia: Bob John B. From Colorado: Jim and Bobbie F. From Vermont: John K. From Florida: Bill L and Rick and Vicky K. From British Columbia: Eric and Debbie: From California: Tim Z, and Carol B. and From Arizona: David and Phyllis.


Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney ~ All Rights Reserved

Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved


Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor




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Sightings and Trip Report are from the North and Northeast Area of Yellowstone

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park


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