Yellowstone National Park 2023 Trip Reports

Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin

16 through 19 May 2023
Yellowstone National Park

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 ~

Tuesday - May 16th

40 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 61 degrees. I watched a moose north of Coyote Overlook this morning. I watched two otters in Soda Butte Creek this morning from Footbridge. I saw a vulture today. I watched a moose at Lower Barronette this evening. The NE Entrance Gate is open for the year. The road construction in Lamar Canyon is now about twenty-minute delay. At 5:15 a.m. I had a large grizzly in the willows east of Hitching Post Pullout. At 5:30 a.m. I viewed the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs in the same willows. Today the sow was not allowing the large male too close, yet. At 7:30 a.m. Randi M found the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs digging on A-Z Meadow. At 8:10 a.m. Bruce P found the grizzly sow with one yearling cub north of Picnic Pullout. At 8;25 a.m. the medium sized regular grizzly was in the willows north of the Confluence fifteen yards off the road, it crossed the road north to south as I passed by. At 8:45 a.m. Bob H found a small colorful grizzly on the # 1 finger of Norris. At 9:00 a.m. Randi M found a courting pair of grizzlies on K-2 Clearing viewed from Footbridge. The boar did not look that big. At 9:10 a.m. while watching the courting pair Dean D found a much larger grizzly walking below the courting pair. The larger grizzly sensed the courting pair and slowly followed the pair. Good viewing until we lost them traveling behind trees going south. At 9:15 a.m. a large cinnamon black bear was found in the tree line southeast of Footbridge, the spot was by Jeri D. At 10:00 a.m. a black bear was spotted low under the snow cornice viewed from Footbridge. At 11:10 a.m. after hours of looking I found the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year (Coys) high northeast of Footbridge. At 5:30 p.m. two black and one gray wolf were around the Slough Creek Den. At 6:00 p.m. we had a grizzly southeast of Fisherman's Pullout. At 6:30 p.m. I spotted a nice sized grizzly just east of the eastern foothill south of Trashcan Pullout. He was rubbing its back on a tree. It then walked around thirty yards or so then grabbed the tree for a front rubbing. I had a THREE DOG DAY today.

Wednesday - May 17th

37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 63 degrees. Margaret L found a moose on K-2 this morning, a very strange place for a moose. Rita R found a large blond colored badger just across the Soda Butte Creek viewed from Footbridge. A great day of viewing grizzlies. With a lot of help from friends I had twenty-six different grizzlies today. At 5:30 a.m. Gary G found two sub adult grizzlies low on a clearing on Norris. We assumed that during the night the sow had run off the two two-year-old cubs and stayed with the boar. But later we located the sow with the two two-year-old cubs back together, so these sub adults came from somewhere else. The two sub adults were seen higher on Norris around 9:00 a.m. At 6;00 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one yearling cub on the valley floor southeast of Footbridge. Later we found them up high on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 6:30 a.m. Dean D found a medium sized grizzly southwest of Coyote Overlook. At 6:35 a.m. Dean D spotted a smaller grizzly in the same general area. At about the same time Dean found one gray collared wolf and one uncollared gray wolf harassing the larger grizzly bear. All moved their separate ways after a while. At 6:40 a.m. Gary G found the same grizzly as last night, I think, back rubbing on that same tree south of Trashcan Pullout. At 6:45 a.m. Gary G found a medium sized grizzly north of Picnic Pullout. It moved to the east and at 9:10 a.m. crossed the road north to south to the willows south of the Confluence. This was the regular grizzly that has been viewed for days in those willows. At 7:00 a.m. I found a courting pair of grizzlies on the skyline south of the old Buffalo Ranch and just east of The Bell meadow. This boar grizzly was a very large. At 7:15 a.m. Gary G showed me a brief sighting of a grizzly low below the Bowl viewed from the old Buffalo Ranch. Later Kim and Joyce C found the same grizzly slowly going up the Bowl and a much better view of the grizzly. At 7:45 a.m. Kim and Joyce had two grizzlies low on K Meadow viewed from Footbridge. I saw one of the two then and the second one at 9:10 a.m. The first was smaller and colorful and the second was a little larger and darker. At 8:30 a.m. Kevin M found a large grizzly bedded low on Ski Slope clearing viewed from Hobard Hill. When I arrived, the grizzly was up and moving around. It appeared to have a damaged face, perhaps in a fight with another grizzly. At 8:45 a.m. Kevin M had 1228F the alpha female of the Shrimp Lake wolf pack on an elk carcass south of Hubbard Hill. She ate then moved east and crossed the road to the north and out of sight. At 9:00 a.m. MacNeil L. found a grizzly on the # 2 clearing on Norris. At 9:20 a.m. Kim and Joyce C found the grizzly with the three Coys northeast of Footbridge. At 9:45 a.m. Kim and Joyce showed me a small colorful grizzly on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 1:25 p.m. I found the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs high on Specimen Ridge. Good viewing from Long Pullout and Straight-away Pullout. Later Karen M found them again on Specimen Ridge. At 4:00 p.m. I was watching the Slough Creek den with Frank H and Paul H. We watched 907F and 1276F, one gray and one black adult wolves and one black pup. The wolf watchers have identified a total of six pups, four black and two gray so far. At 6:15 p.m. the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs were in the willows with the regular medium sized grizzly. They seemed really at ease with the medium sized grizzly, maybe a cub of the sows from years ago.

Thursday - May 18th

35 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 65 degrees. We had low clouds this morning barring us from watching the top clearings that the grizzlies hang out on. In the afternoon smoke from the fires in Canada made viewing the high meadows difficult to impossible. The road construction in the Lamar Canyon has twenty-minute delays coming and going at the stop lights. I viewed a male Harlequin duck today at the Confluence. At 5:35 a.m. I found a grizzly running south of Hitching Post viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 5:45 a.m. the regular medium sized grizzly crossed the road from north to south at the Confluence. At 5:45 a.m. I found the two sub adult grizzlies low on Norris viewed from Confluence East. At 6:00 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly bear and sow near the sub adults. Viewing was really good at Footbridge for this. At 6:35 a.m. Randi M found a large grizzly running south of Hitching Post viewed from Footbridge. At 6:45 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found a black uncollared wolf on Dead Puppy Hill moving to the west. At 7:40 a.m. Kim and Joyce C had a grizzly southeast of Fisherman's Pullout. At 10:15 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs on the Northern Divide Ridge viewed from Slough Creek. Later we saw them from Coyote Overlook in Lamar when they were visible in Lamar Valley. At 10:30 a.m. Frank H had a dark grizzly moving east in the Yellow Grass Meadow in Slough Creek. At 10:40 a.m. Frank H had a large dark black bear south in Little America. At 12:15 p.m. Dean D found a small colorful grizzly on the # 1 finger on Norris. I had a THREE DOG DAY today.

Friday - May 19th

30 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to a nice warm 76 degrees. Again, this morning we had smoke and haze from the fires in Canada making viewing difficult. We watched the pair of harlequin ducks at the Confluence this morning. At 5:35 a.m. Kevin M found a grizzly digging on Amethyst Bench. This grizzly was in and out of sight on the bench all day. At 5:45 a.m. Gary G found the two sub adult grizzlies together low on a clearing on Mount Norris. At 7:20 a.m. with help from others (Rick and Len H, and Bill and Karen M) I watched my first wolverine in the tree line on Amethyst Bench. It was close to the old bison cow carcass that was actively being feed on over a week ago by grizzly bears. I arrived late and only had about thirty-five seconds of viewing as the wolverine jumped up into the trees and out of sight. I have been looking in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks for one of them. Today was a special day. A strange place for a wolverine but I guess the old scent of the carcass attracted it. At 8:15 a.m. Gary G showed me a large dark grizzly moving in the tree line east to west near the eastern foothills south of Trashcan Pullout. At 8:45 a.m. Bruce P showed me a small colorful grizzly digging south of the road near the Soda Butte Cone. This grizzly remained in view for hours. At 10:15 a.m. Margaret L found and showed me a courting pair of grizzlies in K Meadow viewed from Confluence East and others watched from Footbridge Pullout. The boar spent most of his time chasing after the sow. Much of the time he stayed above her preventing the sow from going over the hill. When she stopped to dig for roots the boar bedded nearby. The sow finally got ahead of the boar, and both disappeared over the mountain. Randi M and others had watched this courting pair lower on the hills earlier this morning. At 1:20 p.m. I found the grizzly sow with two two-year-old cubs low on the Divide Ridge moving west and uphill. Doing a little digging but mainly traveling. When they arrived at the top of the Divide Ridge, Gary G picked them up at Coyote Overlook in Lamar Valley. At 4:15 p.m. Donna F found the grizzly sow with three Coys in the same clearing as two days ago. Difficult viewing as it is a long way and lots of dead trees in the clearing. At 4:45 p.m. Gary G found a small colorful grizzly digging in Round Prairie.

People Seen

Wolf watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Taylor R, Josh A, Jeremy S, Doug M, Janice and Cindy H, and John and Carolyn G. From California: Bob H and Bill and Karen M, From Colorado: Mark and Carol R, Karel B, and Bob P. From Missouri: Frank H and Sandy H and her son, From Utah: Paul H. From Arizona Matt L. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. And From Idaho: Natalie B. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Utah: CD and Brenda C, Gayle and Brett, and Dean and Jeri D. From Wyoming: Rita R, Kevin M, and Terri W. From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C and Terry and Marsha J. From Washington: Randi M and Steve L. From Arizona: Gene and Margaret. From South Carolina: Margaret P. From Colorado: Len and Rick H, and Tom and Lisa K. From Wisconsin: Don L. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Montana: Doug M, Margaret L, Scott M, Howard A, Shari S, and Chuck and Debbie. And From Missouri: Fred and Linda. Others seen this report. From Montana: Audra C, Mike S, Bob L, Lee H, MacNeil L, Evan S, and Quinn H. From Florida: Bill L. From Washington: Matt P. From Vermont: John K. From Rhode Island: Mark L. From California: Carol B. From Iowa: Steve S and Bob A. And from the Netherlands: Jort V.

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

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park