Yellowstone National Park 2024 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
10 through 13 April 2024
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
~ April 2024 ~
April 10th - Wednesday
Wednesday April 10th. 40 degrees in Gardiner but 32 degrees this morning at Blacktail Ponds warming up to a nice 51 degrees. I had a cottontail rabbit on the road this morning near Gardiner. The five trumpeter swans we have been seeing were at Slough Creek this morning then flew off to the west early this morning. Early this morning Paul H hiked down to Bob's Knob. At 7:30 a.m. he had a black and a gray wolf near the Slough Creek den. I arrived a little later but those two were out of sight. Soon Paul H had a collared gray wolf in the creek corridor. I got to see it before it went out of sight. Then Paul H found five bedded wolves just across Slough Creek; they were a black collared, a black wolf, the black pup who is collared, and two gray wolves. Later after I left, they got up and moved and had seven wolves. I left to check out Lamar and the Soda Butte valleys. I returned around 10:00 a.m. and several of the wolves had crossed the road into Crystal Drainage. With help from Paul H and Kevin M, I watched from Lamar Canyon West and had two black and one gray wolf. They went south and then west and found a carcass of some kind. They were in view most of the afternoon, with the total count to the south of five: a black collared, a black, the black collared pup, and two uncollared gray wolves. They remained in view most of the afternoon, sometimes only one and sometimes more in view.
April 11th - Thursday
39 degrees this morning in Gardiner but only 26 degrees at Slough Creek this morning warming up to 48 degrees is a chilly wind. I had a vulture flying over Crystral Drainage this morning. A little after 6:00 a.m. Paul H had a gray and a black wolf on the western side of Crystral Drainage viewed from the Slough Creek Restroom. I was at the Lamar River Bridge Pullout and had one bedded black wolf. The wolves started to move west so we all met back at the Slough Creek Restroom to find four wolves moving to the west. They were the alpha male, the black pup 1479F, another black and a gray wolf. They were in sight for only a few minutes. Some watchers went to Lamar Valley hoping to locate them again, but they were not seen again this morning. Just before 8:00 a.m. Rick M found a grizzly digging in Lion Meadow in Slough Creek. It was a medium sized grizzly with a nice Yellowstone stripe around its body at the shoulder. A coyote harassed the grizzly for a few minutes before leaving the grizzly alone. The grizzly stayed in the Lion Meadow all day and was still there at 4:20 p.m. when I left. The bear dug a lot in the dirt and appeared to be getting something to eat. The grizzly also took a lot of naps raising its head once in a while to check out the area around it. A few times it rolled over on its back and with all four legs and feet in the air it seemed to be enjoy spring. Just after 8:00 am Kim and Joyce C found a collared gray wolf on the western side of Crystal Drainage. Rick M identified the wolf at 907F the alpha female of the Junction Butte wolfpack and the oldest wolf in the park (eleven years old in a couple of days). 907F soon bedded in the snow in good view and remained bedded in sight for the next two hours. It was kind of nice to watch and show others a grizzly to the north and the alpha female wolf to the south.
April 12th - Friday
46 degrees in Gardiner but only 31 degrees at Boulder Pullout in Little America this morning warming up to 53 degrees with a cool afternoon wind. I had a THREE DOG DAY with the fox on the road at Elk Creek before daylight. My first unita ground squirrels were seen today. Kevin M and I hiked down the Slough Creek Campground Road today, 2.5 miles down and 2.5 miles back. Around 7:00 a.m. the action started near the bison carcass from two days ago in Crystal Drainage. Rick M had a grizzly and wolves near the old carcass. Unfortunately, I missed the grizzly, but we had eight wolves today. Six black, one was the alpha male and one the brown looking pup, plus four others. Two gray wolves were in the group as they moved west below the tree line on Specimen Ridge. I am sure that some wore collars, but we were trying to confirm the count. Great viewing as they traveled most of the time on snow. They disappeared on the west end of Little America near #9's old den. About 8:20 a.m. we found the colorful grizzly again in Lion Meadow digging away. Same as yesterday, a lot of digging for something to eat and a lot of naps. Today was very warm and sunny in the morning and the grizzly climbed on top of a huge boulder to take a nap. Sometimes he got on its back and had four legs and feet in the air waving around. It was still in Lion Meadow when I headed back to the west. I heard later that the grizzly in Lion Meadow moved to the bison carcass in the creek corridor but then 907F came and ran it off.
April 13th - Saturday
46 degrees in Gardiner but 32 degrees at Boulder this morning warming up to 69 degrees (really hot for mid-April). I found a vulture near the trashcans at Tower Junction and three more flying over Crystal and Slough Creek this morning. A golden eagle visited the carcass after the bear and wolves left it this morning. At 6:30 a.m. Paul H had a grizzly on the bison carcass in the Slough Creek River corridor. Soon after 907F and an uncollared gray wolf were seen in the area. The grizzly held control of the carcass and chased the wolves off a couple of times. The grizzly even chased the ravens off the carcass after chasing the wolves off. After a couple of hours, the grizzly ran off and the wolves left the area. Around noon 907F came back to the carcass and ate quite a bit. She then moved very slowly towards the den area, but bedded behind the eastern trees and did not enter the den. At 1:00 p.m. Grant J found a cinnamon black bear sow with a cinnamon yearling cub southeast of Yellowstone River Picnic area.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Doug M, Jeremy S, Taylor R, Kriztina G and Linda K. From Connecticut: Geoff F and his two kids and Tenile. From Utah: Paul H. From California: Jim and Amber H. From Oregon: David and Stehanie O. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Wyoming: Kevin M. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Montana: Jack G and Margaret L. From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C. And From Utah: Larry M. Others seen this report: From Montana: Nate U, Grant J, Andrea B, Michael S, Emil M, Mike S, Quinn H, Bob L, Reggie & Linda C, Scott B. And from Florida: Mark B.
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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