Yellowstone National Park 2025 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
30th April through 3rd May 2025
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 2025 ~
April 30th - Wednesday
40 degrees in Gardiner this morning but 28 degrees on the road south this morning warming up to 50 degrees with afternoon showers. I had a jack rabbit running along the road in front of me this morning before daylight. Today I went back to Idaho Falls to get rid of my motel stuff and load up my camping stuff. Back in the park at 2:20 p.m. I found a large grizzly high near the tree line on the slopes of Hellroaring. It scratched his back on a tree before disappearing into the trees on the top of the meadow. At 3:20 p.m. I found the Ski Slope sow with one yearling on where else, on Ski Slope. The yearling stays really close to the sow this time of year. At 3:45 p.m. I spotted a large black bear grazing east of Amethyst Bench. At 7:00 p.m. the mixed grizzly family, one large two-year-old size, one smaller one year old size and the sow just crossing the road east of Footbridge Pullout. On the way back to Silver Gate this evening I had two young yearling moose on the road. They did not want to cross so they ran ahead for a few hundred yards before finally moving off to the south.
~ May 2025 ~
May 1st - Thursday
34 degrees in Silver Gate this morning but 30 degrees in Lamar warming up to 60 degrees out in the park. The red-tailed hawk is on her nest south of Lamar Canyon East pullout. Four moose in downtown Silver Gate tonight, all on the south side of the road. I had a THREE DOG (coyote. Fox, and wolf) DAY today. At 6:00 a.m. Frank H pointed out a black wolf near the Slough den area. At 6:10 a.m. Randi M found a grizzly on a bison carcass in Crystal Drainage just across and above the trees bordering the Lamar River. Soon she had three black and one gray wolves in the area waiting for the grizzly to leave. The bear left soon and most of the Junction Butte wolves were there including all three grays, so 1478F is not in a den yet. At 6:45 a.m. I found a lazy bedded grizzly southwest of Fisherman's Pullout. It got up a few times to dig but once in a while bedded to rest up. At 8:35 a.m. Gabriel M found the grizzly sow with two yearlings high on Middle Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook. Difficult to see most of the time in sagebrush, quite easy to see when they crossed a large snow field. At 8:45 a.m. Randi M found a tall colorful grizzly digging north of Coyote Overlook. At 9:35 a.m. Jeff A called from Slough Creek with a medium sized colorful grizzly digging on Specimen Ridge, we thought it was the female 4 1/2-year-old sub adult. We could and did see and watch it from Coyote Overlook below a large herd of bison. At 9:50 a.m. we had a large black bear grazing on Amethyst Bench. At 10:20 a.m. Gabriel M found a medium sized colorful grizzly on the #2 finger on Norris digging away. At 10:40 a.m. Gary G found grizzlies on the #1 finger on Norris. It was the mixed grizzly family, one large two-year-old size with small one year old cub and the sow. Digging most of the time today with only a little play between the cubs. They moved over to the #2 finger and that got the now bedded medium grizzly to exit leaving #2 finger for #3 finger. At 11:00 a.m. Gabrial M found the Ski Slope grizzly again on Ski Slope. They were out again in the afternoon. The yearling stays really close to the sow. At 1:00 p.m. we had a black wolf south of the enclosure, a Mollies wolf (others were seen in the evening the high count of seven, five grays and two blacks including 1090F the alpha and oldest wolf in the park). I later saw only two additional blacks and two grays. At 1:00 p.m. a black and a cinnamon black bear were high on the rock cliffs north of the Institute. At 6:00 p.m. we had a large black bear viewed south of the Soda Butte Cone. Later I spotted two black and two gray Mollies wolves on Norris.
May 2nd - Friday
29 degrees in Silver Gate this morning but only 25 degrees in Lamar Valley warming up to 70 degrees. Two moose in downtown Silver Gate tonight. At 6:00 a.m. Gary G found a black bear above the Horizontal Forest in Slough Creek. At 6:20 a.m. I pulled into Coyote Pullout and found the grizzly with three big 2 1/2-year-olds digging northeast of the Pullout. Great viewing for quite a long time. She laid down on her back and nursed the cubs. At 7:00 a.m. Gabriel M found the grizzly that Bruce P had seen twice earlier south of the Soda Butte Cone. It had found a still born bison calf, sitting watching over it and the cars coming down the road. Although over a half mile away, the grizzly felt disturbed and grabbed the carcass and walked over the hill and out of sight. It was a large brown grizzly. At 7:30 Sandy K found a black wolf south of the road near Chalcedony Fan. Soon after that the wolf watchers found most of the pack low on Norris. At 8:30 a.m. we watched a large cinnamon black bear in a meadow far east of the yellow grass meadow in Slough. At 10:00 a.m. Paul H and Bob P told me about the mixed grizzly family, with one large 2-year-old cub, a small yearling size cub and the sow. They were on #3 finger on Norris and in sight for a long time, digging and the cubs playing. At 5:30 a.m. Gabriel M showed me a grizzly digging on K-3 clearing. Only a little bare ground up there with everything else in snow. At 5:40 p.m. Paul H showed me a grizzly coming into the K Meadow. He had viewed the same grizzly earlier that had moved out of sight.
May 3rd - Saturday
28 degrees in Silver Gate this morning but 33 degrees in Slough Creek warming up to 73 degrees out in the park. I had a fox on the road on the way back to Silver Gate this evening. The park reduced off trail access from Footbridge Pullout to Cache Creek today. The speculation is that the Mollies Wolf Pack is denning around Dead Puppy Hill. So, no off trail allowed to the south all the way to Cache Creek, with heavy monetary and possible jail time if convicted. It was quite a busy day with my largest number of grizzlies so far this year: twenty-two grizzlies today. At 5:45 a.m. I found a grizzly digging and then traveling on Specimen Ridge. Not in view too long from Slough Creek, but when we moved to Lamar Valley, we could watch it again at a greater distance. At 5:50 a.m. two black wolves bedded in the Slough Creek den area. The wolf watchers told me that all eleven of the pack, eight black and three grays, were seen today. Nine later around the den and two visited the old carcass in the Peregrine Hills. At 6:05 a.m. Bruce P called saying the grizzly sow with three two- and one-half year-old cubs were north of Coyote Overlook. Closer sighting than yesterday at about four hundred yards, they were moving away when we arrived. At 6:50 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly traveling the tree line south of Trashcan Pullout. At 7:50 a.m. Hayden G found a colorful grizzly near the Chalcedony Fan. This grizzly was quite a bit smaller and more colorful and was in sight for quite a long time. At 8:15 a.m. Gabriel M found a medium sized grizzly mid-way up on Ski Slope. Moving and digging up and down the hill. At 9:20 a.m. Jeff and Valerie B found a grizzly sow with two yearling cubs digging in Bear Meadow viewed from Hobard Hill. This is a new family for us bear watchers, as the Specimen Ridge grizzly was seen later on Specimen Ridge. One of the cubs is lighter than the other and they were in view, although a long way away, for quite a while. At 9:35 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly high on Ski Slope. It was in sight for quite a while before going over the skyline and out of sight. At 9:45 a.m. Randi M called out a grizzly chasing/following a few elk on the north side of the road, we were still at Hobard Hill. It was only in sight for a minute or two. At 10:35 a.m. from Footbridge Pullout Randi found the mixed grizzly family (one large two-year-old size, one small yearling size cub and the sow) on # 3 finger on Norris farther south where the snow covers most of the ground. A good view several times in the snow and later they moved down to bare ground and started digging. At 1:50 p.m. Randi from back on Hobard Hill found the Ski Slope grizzly sow with one yearling cub today on the valley floor at the bottom of Ski Slope. Close viewing for Lamar Valley of about one-half mile. Lots of people got to see them. At 2:55 p.m. the large black bear returned to the carcass in the Peregrines. It is a very large black bear who yesterday held the carcass from the wolves. Grizzlies do that all the time, but having a black bear do it, it was a bold and large black bear to do that. Earlier the Specimen Ridge sow with two yearlings had been seen on Specimen Ridge, first near the top of the ridge, then later to the west viewed very high in the clearing. At 3:00 p.m. I found them out again viewed from Boulder Pullout. I watched as they moved slowly across the ridge digging as they went. Then they bedded near a snowbank and all we could see was a ball of grizzlies. After thirty minutes they got up and were traveling and digging for great viewing, lots of people got to see them. In the morning, several people viewed a medium sized dark grizzly on the # 1 finger on Norris. I missed seeing it this morning, but at 4:40 p.m. I found the grizzly digging on the # 1 finger on Norris.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers seen this report: From Montana: Kristina G, JoJo K, Helene E, Jeff A, Alan C, Melba C, Rick M. and Jeff B. From Colorado: Bob P. From Utah: Paul H, Julie A and Charlie M. From California: Bruce and Maryjean Mc, and Glenda M and Rick. From Missouri: Frank H. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. From Washington: David and Stephanie O. From Oklahoma: Robert and Pam W. And from Sweden: Jacob B. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Montana: Margaret L, Scott M, Shari S and Val, Kathy M, Jeff and Valerie B, Sandy K and Duffy P. From Washington: Randi M. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Wyoming: Kevin M and Gabriel M. From Virginia: Daniel M. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, and Doug and Hayden G. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Idaho: Blake M. From South Carolina: Scott P. From Oklahoma: Paul S. And from Missouri: Fred and Linda. Others seen this report: From Montana: Chris H, Nate U, Ashea T, Grant J, Andrea B, Shauna B, Kate J, and Jayden A. From Washington: Aaron M. From British Columbia: Eric and Debbie. From Idaho: Scott B, and Adam 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
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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