Yellowstone National Park 2023 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
18 through 21 October 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
~ October 2023 ~
October 18th - Wednesday
Wednesday October 18th. 25 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 66 degrees. I had a fox and several coyotes today, but no wolves. At 7:15 a.m. Frank H found a dark grizzly north of the Mixed Conifer Aspen Forest slowly moving further north. It took the grizzly about fifteen minutes to travel out of sight going through Junction Pass. Earlier Frank H had a large grizzly in the Slough Creek Bottoms from Bob's Knob. By 7:45 a.m. the grizzly had traveled further to the north, and I finally got a view of him before disappearing into the ravine above the old Slough Creek den area.
October 19th - Thursday
28 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 72 degrees out in Lamar Valley. At 8:45 a.m. the wolves were found north of Boulder Pullout. Mark and Carol R had heard howling and then Emil M made a great spot of a bedded gray wolf in deep sagebrush. I stayed long enough to count ten Junction Butte wolves at first bedded then moving slowly away to the north. Others stayed longer and had a count of fifteen wolves. At 6:30 p.m. I found a dark grizzly on the high clearing behind and south of Ski Slope viewed from Dorothy's Pullout. It appeared to be on a carcass of some kind, but after fifteen minutes it moved off and up the meadow and out of sight. It was not there the next day.
October 21th - Friday
A very slow day for me today. I was in all the wrong places when others found grizzlies. A grizzly was seen early from the Institute near Amethyst Bench. Others had a grizzly sow with two dark yearling cubs near Tornado Drainage from Upper Hellroaring. I wish I could have seen that grizzly family as they were a delight earlier in June seeing them several times north of Boulder and also in Slough Creek and one time on the slopes of Hellroaring. Dale and Fay reported a sow with a cub of the year high up near the skyline from Hellroaring early this morning. Despite arriving later and staying for six hours plus I could not find the grizzly family again. I had watched a sow with one cub of the year on the slopes of Hellroaring only once on June 19th and missed seeing them again. Interesting in that on June 19th I watched both the sow with two dark yearlings and the sow with one cub of the year on slopes of Hellroaring at the same time.
October 21st - Saturday
29 degrees in Silver Gate this morning as I decided to head home for the year.
Other News
Finally, after a spring and summer of construction the Lamar Canyon has been completed and paved and for the first time since April no delays coming or going through the canyon. Most of the year 30-minute delays going and coming were the norm. The construction was a pain in the ass, but the construction company did an amazing job. They provided a few more pullouts and retained the original pullouts that us wildlife watchers enjoy, especially Lamar Canyon West. Recently the park service added more gravel and graded the road down to the Slough Creek Campground. It is in the best shape I can remember. A great year of watching grizzlies in 2023. I ended up seeing fourteen different families from Hellroaring to the Northeast Entrance. Five families with cubs of the year, four families with yearlings and five families with two-year-old cubs where I expect to see cubs of the year in four of the five (I viewed the Slough Creek family on June 28th and June 29th northeast of Slough Creek still with both the two-year-old cubs.)
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Jeremy S, and Janice and Cindy H. From Missouri: Frank H. From Wyoming: Larry and Linda H. From Connecticut: Geoff F and his two kids and Tenile. From Colorado: Mark and Carol R, and Dale and Fay B. From Kansas: Calvin and Lynette J. From Wisconsin: Matt and Carla Rae C And From Florida: Andy and Missy O, and Ed and Carrie P. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Montana: Shari S, Doug M, and Chuck and Deb, From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C, and From Utah: Gayle and Brett. Others seen this report: From Montana: Nate U, Russ K John and Carolyn G, Emil M, and Micheal S.
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
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