Yellowstone National Park 2025 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
4th through 7th 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
~ May 2025 ~
May 4th - Sunday
30 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 72 degrees out in the park. I had a THREE DOG (coyote, fox, and wolf) DAY today. At 6:00 a.m. Paul H told us about two black wolves at the Slough Creek den, today the limping black and 1385F the alpha female in the den most of the time. At 6:33 a.m. there was a black bear in view near the tree line on Amethyst Bench. At 6:40 a.m. Hayden G found a dark grizzly in the Bowl on some type of carcass. At 6:50 a.m. Gary G found the first of two sub adults in the Bowl, they were also on something to eat, the second one came into view a little later. At 7:05 a.m. Randi M found the grizzly sow with two yearlings high in Bear Meadow best viewed from Hobard Hill. At 8:45 a.m. Randi found a small colorful grizzly digging on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 9:00 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year high on the # 6 finger on Norris. Sometimes they are above the mountain goats. At 9:20 a.m. I found a medium sized grizzly north of Coyote Pullout. At 5:25 p.m. Gary G found the mixed grizzly family with one large two-year-old cub and one small yearling size cub on # 3 finger on Norris. They were in snow today digging through it, throwing snow as they dug.
May 5th - Monday
37 degrees this morning in Silver Gate but 44 degrees at Slough Creek this morning warming up to 39 degrees with a lot of low visibility today. I had a flicker and a golden eagle today. Some snow removing equipment went through the valley today. They will be plowing the road to Cody and later the Beartooth Highway. At 5:50 a.m. Frank H called with four black wolves and a gray wolf bedded near the den. At 6:05 a.m. Blake M found a nice sized grizzly just east of the den area. The grizzly took the high route above the den, but the wolves chased the grizzly up and over the hill. At 6:25 a.m. Andrea B spotted the three grizzlies north of Boulder Pullout. It appeared to me that the one out in the lead was a colorful grizzly, perhaps a sow with a dark grizzly boar that was not too big, both followed a huge dark boar grizzly (I am thinking perhaps courting was in the air). At 6:35 a.m. I found a grizzly sow with two yearlings on the top of Specimen Ridge. Later they came down the ridge and were feeding for hours halfway between the tree line and the road just east of Long Pullout. At 7:05 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly with a light Yellowstone Stripe; it was north of Coyote Pullout. At 7:25 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly near yesterday's carcass in the Bowl. At 7:50 a.m. Bruce P found the mixed family on the # 3 finger on Norris. This is the family of the sow, a large two-year-old size cub and a smaller yearling size cub. At 7:55 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly on the # 2 finger on Norris digging. At 8:00 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly moving up in K Meadow. At 8;30 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year again on the # 6 finger on Norris. At about this time, we had a black bear grazing on Amethyst Bench. At 9:00 a.m. we found three gray wolves and 1090F moving west pass the Soda Butte Cone. At 10:00 a.m. Blake M found a dark grizzly east of Chalcedony Fan moving into the trees. At 5:15 p.m. I found a grizzly digging in a low clearing north of the fingers but south of the road.
May 6th - Tuesday
30 degrees in Silver Gate warning up to 70 degrees out in the park. I saw a golden eagle flying near the Confluence today. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:30 a.m. Frank H called with four black and two gray wolves bedded around the Slough Den. At 5:40 a.m. Kate J, Silver Gate Guides, spotted a large grizzly swimming across the little lake in front of the Peregrine Hills. He went to the old bison carcass, displacing the large black bear who was eating on the carcass. At 6:00 a.m. Blake M found a smaller grizzly to the south of the road watching from Straight-away Pullout. At 6:15 a.m. I found a dark grizzly digging southwest of Fisherman's Pullout best watched from Coyote Pullout. At 7:00 a.m. we had a large black bear grazing near the tree line south of Picnic Pullout. At 7:15 a.m. a large cinnamon bear was seen south of the Soda Butte Cone. At 7:45 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging on the #1 finger on Norris. At 8:40 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly running on Calfee Meadow, later it slowed down digging and moving. At 9:00 a.m. I found a medium sized colorful grizzly north of Coyote Pullout. At 9:25 a.m. a tour guide from the Big Sky Resort told me about a sow with two yearlings on the bison carcass in Little America in front of the Peregrine Hills. Great viewing for hours. It took several attempts to lead the two yearlings to the carcass, but she got them there to eat. At 10:00 a.m. Paul S found a faraway black bear far to the north of the Peregrine Hills. At 11:15 a.m. Kate J found a medium sized colorful grizzly low in the creek corridor south of the Soda Butte Cone. At 11:20 a.m. Kate J found the mixed grizzly family with one large two-year-old size and one small yearling sized cub on # 3 finger on Norris. At 11:25 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year again on the # 6 finger on Norris. At 4:30 p.m. Bruce and Maryjean Mc found a black bear in the Slough Bowl. At 5:15 p.m. Gary G found a darker larger grizzly in the bottoms south of the Cone, the two other grizzlies seen today in this area were more colorful and smaller bears. At 6:10 p.m. there was a small black bear in a clearing below Square Meadow. At 6:20 a.m. a larger black bear was seen in the large clearing behind the eastern end of Jasper Bench.
May 7th - Wednesday
31 degrees in Silver Gate warming up to 60 degrees out in the park. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 6:10 a.m. Frank H called with five black and two gray wolves around the den site, today they rallied a few times before we left. At 6:15 a.m. driving to the east from Slough Creek I found the grizzly sow with three large two- and one-half year olds were pretty close in the Slough Bowl. About this time Scott P found a brown, off-colored uncollared wolf interacting with the grizzly family. The sow nursed all three of the large cubs this morning. There was a large black bear that was moving fast out of the area when it spotted the grizzly family in the Slough Bowl. At 6:55 a.m. Dean D found a grizzly with two yearlings high on the Southern Divide Ridge from Coyote Pullout. They soon went over, but we went back to Slough Creek for great viewing. At 7:10 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly way to the west on Prospect Peak, over six miles, but the grizzly was standing beneath a large snowbank. At 7:50 a.m. we watched a large black bear close to the sow and two yearlings causing them to run fast to the south. At 7:55 a.m. I found a grizzly on the ridge north of Hobard Hill. It quickly went out of sight but came back into view. It was acting like it was hunting for elk calves, zig zagging back in forth in the tall sagebrush, I think the grizzly is about a week early to hunt elk calves. This morning Paul S had the mixed family of grizzlies again on # 3 finger on Norris. It took Dean D to find them later at 9:00 a.m. At 10:00 a.m. Gary G found the two sub adult grizzlies again in the Bowl. At 10:15 a.m. I got a short sighting of the grizzly sow with one yearling cub on Ski Slope. We found them again and the sow and yearling scented a large bull bison and ran down from Square Meadow to this side of the tree line on Amethyst Bench. Great viewing as they dug and moved slowly to the west. At 10:50 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly low in Bear Meadow. Difficult to see in the high sagebrush. At 2:10 p.m. Dean D found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year even higher up on the # 6 finger on Norris. A long view but the sun was out on that clearing and the sow glowed in the sun. At 2:25 p.m. Paul S found a dark grizzly crossing the # 2 finger on Norris. Soon the mixed family must have scented the other grizzly and ran down all the way to the bottom on the # 1 finger on Norris.
People Seen
Wolf watchers seen this report: From Montana: Rick M, Jeff A, Kristina G, Jeff B, Mike and Jill B, Taylor R and Jeremy S. From Utah: Paul H and Charlie M. From Missouri: Frank H. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. From California: Glenda M and Rick, and Bruce and Maryjean Mc. From Colorada: Dennis R. From Washington: David and Stephanie O. And from Oklahoma: Robert and Pam W. Bear watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, and Doug and Hayden. From Oklahoma: Paul S. From Idaho: Blake M. From Ohio: Jim and Twyla E. From Missouri: Fred and Linda. From Montana: Chuck W, Kathy B, Shari S. From Wyoming: Kevin M, and Terri W. From Louisiana: Bruce P. And from South Carolina: Scott P. Others seen this report: From Montana: Audray C, Kate J, Nate U, Lee H, Scott B, Andrea B, Quinn H, Brad B, Nathan V, Grant J and Michelle H. From Florida: Bill L. From Washington: Aaron M. From British Columbia: Eric and Debbie. From Oregon: Michael and Deb O. From Wyoming: Rick C. And from California: Jim and Amber H.
While typing this report in Silver Gate tonight a large avalanche roared and sent show down the mountain to the south.
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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