Yellowstone National Park 2025 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
20 through 23 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 20th - Tuesday
35 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 49 degrees out in the park. I had a cow moose with two yearling calves this morning near Pebble Creek. At 5:30 a.m. I found a large black bear southwest of Coyote Overlook. At 5:30 a.m. Gary G found three subadult grizzlies (our best guess) on the Northern Divide Ridge. At 5:40 a.m. I found a large grizzly digging northeast of Coyote Pullout. At 6:00 a.m. Randi M found two grizzlies running over the Northern Divide Ridge. A quick spotting as they were gone in a minute or two, I only saw the second of the two, perhaps a courting pair. At 6:35 a.m. John G found seven black and one gray Junction Butte wolves on Amethyst Bench. They moved east then and then moved west, in view for well over an hour. At 6:45 a.m. Gary G viewed a small colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 7:10 a.m. Kyle D told me about the mixed grizzly family (the sow, one large two-year-old sized cub, and one small yearling sized cub) on the # 2 finger on Norris. Good viewing from the Soda Butte Valley, but they went out of sight early. At 7:45 a.m. John G found the grizzly family with two yearlings just west of Bear Meadow. A great spot as they were bedded for the longest time. At 7:55 a.m. Dean D found a grizzly in deep sagebrush in Secret Passage. At 8:00 a.m. Tammy M found the grizzly sow with one yearling (Ski Slope family) on the flats south of Trashcan. Good and relatively close viewing. At 9:15 a.m. Mike F found a colorful grizzly digging on the high meadow northeast of Pebble Creek Campground. It got easier to see when the sun shined on the meadow. At 10:00 a.m. we had a black bear in a clearing south of Trashcan Pullout viewed from Footbridge. At 10:30 a.m. Jeri D found the black bear sow with one cub of the year east of Amethyst Bench in the tree line. At 11:30 a.m. Gary G from Hubard Hill found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year north of Trashcan Pullout (the same grizzly that spent weeks on the fingers of Norris). At 12:00 noon Gary G spotted a small colorful grizzly west of Chalcedony Fan in the aspens. At 12:15 p.m. we had a colored black and a uncollared gray wolves moving back towards the Mollies Den south of the Soda Butte Cone. At 5:50 p.m. a repeat sighting as Tammy M found six black Junction Butte wolves on A-Z Meadow soon disappearing to the west.
May 21st - Wednesday
34 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 55 degrees out in the park. I had a moose just off the road this morning before daylight. Two large bull moose at Pebble Creek seen tonight with nice paddles starting. At 6:15 a.m. the Iowa Guys showed us a grizzly digging in the Bowl near Little Tree/Big Tree. At 6:45 a.m. John G found a grizzly high in the A-Z Meadow who promptly moved into the Bowl. At 6:50 a.m. Gary G found a black large black bear in the tree line behind the Western Foothills. At 7:50 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with the yearling cub on Amethyst Bench. At 8:20 a.m. a second black bear was seen in the tree line near the Western Foothills. At 8:00 a.m. John G found the grizzly sow with two yearlings in Bear Meadow. At 8:45 a.m. Gary G found the black bear sow with her two cinnamon yearling cubs in a clearing above Amethyst Bench. We watched our first elk calf of the year nursing north of Coyote Overlook. At 3:20 p.m. the mixed grizzly family (the sow, one large two-year-old size cub, and one yearling sized cub) had just crossed the road near Soda Butte East. They moved around, dug a little and then napped in a ravine. At 6:00 p.m. four black and one gray wolf and four of the six puppies were in view at the sage den at Slough Creek.
May 22nd - Thursday
32 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming to 58 degrees out in the park. I saw two trumpeter swans in a pond near the Hellroaring Creek. Four large bull moose with starting paddles feeding together at Pebble Creek tonight. We had a nice thunder and lightning storm this evening. At 5:35 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly across the Lamar River south of the Institute. At 5:45 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with one yearling on Square Meadow. At 7:00 a.m. Kim C made a great spot finding the grizzly sow with three two-year-olds in Secret Passage viewed from Hubard Hill. This family seems to like this area but feed high and back enough that they cannot be seen from Coyote, Dorothy's or even the Institute pullouts. We had thought on two occasions that the sow might have run the cubs off, but still together today. At 7:10 a.m. Kim C found a small grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 8:00 a.m. Paul H told me that one black adult and all six pups were in view. The pups are getting bigger and moving around the den from time to time, usually accompanied by an adult. Earlier others had seen the grizzly sow with two yearlings on Specimen Ridge. At 8:10 a.m. with Paul's help I got to view them on the top of Specimen Ridge. At 8:35 a.m. the mixed grizzly family was in Round Prairie. They were in view for hours, pretty close to the road. At 10:25 a.m. there was a grizzly south of Hubard Hill trying to cross the road south to north. That did not work so it moved towards the tree line and to the west. Two coyotes pestered the grizzly until it ran off. It remained in sight for over an hour slowly moving west. At 11:20 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings were seen in the clearing south and above Bear Meadow. Lots of people were watching them earlier when John G found them, but it was past 11:00 a.m. before they moved to a clearing, I could see them. At 11:20 a.m. the black bear sow with the two cinnamon yearling cubs was again seen in a clearing above Amethyst Bench. Today was laundry day for me which involved a trip to Gardiner and back. That allowed me to glass the slopes of Hellroaring. At 12:45 p.m. people showed me a grizzly with a large cub high east of Little Buffalo Creek. A long spot and the light was not good, I think a two-year-old cub. At 4:00 p.m. we had a bear jam at Phantom Lake caused by a black bear. At 4:15 p.m. Chad S, Ron S, Faith W and Suzanne R had a black bear high east of Little Buffalo. At 4:30 p.m. they had a grizzly on the skyline way above the slopes of Hellroaring. At 4:50 p.m. I found two sub adult grizzlies running in a clearing near the suspension bridge. It was a short sighting but nice the way the grizzlies were running towards us. At 5:15 p.m. there is a large cinnamon black bear at a small bear jam at Elk Creek.
May 23rd - Friday
32 degrees at Silver Gate this morning warming up to the high 60's this afternoon out in the park. Dunraven Pass and the Beartooth Highway opened at 8:00 a.m. this morning. Now all the roads to Yellowstone National Park are open. I had two large bull moose again tonight at Pebble Creek, fifty yards off the road eating. At 5:40 a.m. Kim C found the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs north of Fisherman's Pullout. It appeared she wanted to cross the road north to south but thought better of that. At 6:00 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two yearlings on Ski Slope. Yesterday others watched a grizzly boar following this family. They moved a long way ending up on Ski Slope. We did not see the Ski Slope grizzly sow and yearling today. At 6:30 a.m. I found a large grizzly walking east on Amethyst Bench. It stayed in sight walking almost to the Lamar River to the east, in view for over an hour. At 6:40 a.m. Gary G showed us the two sub adult grizzlies digging in the Bowl, he had viewed them earlier and showed us them when they reappeared. At 6:45 a.m. Randi M found a big black bear walking in the tree line south of Hubard Hill. At 7:00 a.m. Kim C found a black bear in the Bowl. At 7:10 a.m. Randi M found a second black bear in the Bowl. Black bears are rarely seen in the Bowl, as it is a good place for the grizzlies to dig in and move around in. At 7:45 a.m. I found a tall grizzly walking to the west on K-2 Meadow, a short sighting. At 7:50 a.m. Paul H found two sub adult grizzlies running in K Meadow, south to north. At 8:10 a.m. the mixed grizzly family (the sow, one large two-year-old size cub, and one small yearling sized cub) were viewed in the east of Soda Butte Valley. They crossed the road a few times ending up in Round Prairie later in the day. At 8:40 a.m. Kim C found a small cinnamon black bear near Jennings Rock on the south side of K Meadow. At 9:00 a.m. we had a medium sized colorful grizzly digging high on K Meadow, many people saw it and told me about it. At 10:45 a.m. Gary G found what looked like a courting pair of grizzlies in a small meadow below Bear Meadow. Later the small one fed and moved across a larger meadow, so I assumed two separate grizzlies in the same area. At 5:50 p.m. Gary G showed me a grizzly in the second skyline meadow east of Penny Lane, it was digging a large hole. At 6:20 p.m. a gray wolf of the Mollies was bedded in the sagebrush southeast of Trashcan, others were bedded out of sight, I moved on, and more were seen there later. At 6:25 p.m. I found a brown grizzly on Druid Peak traveling up the hill. At 6:45 p.m. I found the Ski Slope grizzly sow with one yearling cub back on Amethyst Bench. At 7:45 p.m. Rachel M found a small black bear in a clearing east of A-Z Meadow.
People Seen
Wolf watchers seen this report: From Montana: Rick M, Wendy B, Jeremy S, Taylor R, Marlene F, and Helena E. From Missouri: Frank H. From Utah: Paul H and Celia L. From California: Glenda M and Rick G, and Bruce and Maryjean Mc. From Oregon: Michael and Deb O, and Bruce and Kelly H. From Colorado: Bob P and John and Lisa C. From Sweden: Jacob B. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From South Dakoka: Sam and Ginny G. And from Arizona: Matt L.
Bear watchers seen this report: From Washington: Randi M and John G. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, and CD and Blenda C. From Montana: Mike and Kathy W, Jeff and Valerie B, and Doug M. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Wyoming: Rita R and friend Will, Gene B, Tom H, and Kevin M. From Vermont: Don P. From Illinois: Wayne K. From Tennessee: Mike and Donna F. From South Carolina: Margaret P and friend Marsha. From Missouri: Don and Carol L, and Fred and Linda. From Iowa: Terry N, Mark S, Tom H, and Dan S. From Virginia: Big John B. From California: Carol B. From Idaho: Kim C, Carma and Jennings S, Blake, Rachel, and Katie M. From Washington: Steve and Cindy L. From Colorado: Rick and Tanner H. From Minnesota: Kevin, Barb and Jojo B and Ron S and Chad S. And from Arizona: Faith W and Suzanne R. Others seen this report: From Montana: Quinn H, Michael S, Kate J, Hunter G, Kyle D, Amanda E, Emil M, Steve B, Scott B, and Nate U. From Wisconsin: John and Marie E. From Washington: Aaron M. And from Utah: Dave F.
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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