Yellowstone National Park 2025 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
17 through 20 September 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
~ September 2025 ~
September 17th - Wednesday
37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to a nice 66 degrees out in the park in the afternoon. I had a THREE DOG (coyote, fox, and wolf) DAY today. At 6:40 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly south of Hubbard Hill. At 7:15 a.m. we watched three separate grizzlies on a new elk carcass southwest of Footbridge Pullout, it was quite close to the Lamar River Trail hike. Twice two grizzlies had a brief fifteen second fight to decide who would continue eating on the carcass. From 7:15 a.m. thru 8:15 a.m. we watched five black and two gray Junction Butte wolves first at the carcass site (the grizzlies did not show this morning, although we noticed the wolves were quite fat, so they probably killed the elk and ate on it before the first grizzly found the carcass) and then as they traveled west. At 8:30 a.m. we found the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak Family) north of Picnic Pullout. Unlike other sightings which the bears were behind trees and only a couple of time we could see all four. Today they were in the middle of a clearing, and we watched them lightly dig for almost two hours. At 10:30 a.m. we watched three of the Junction Butte wolves (probably all pups) in the rendezvous area in Slough Creek, still near the southern round tree; today we watched from Lamar Canyon West Pullout. At 10:45 a.m. we had a black bear eating berries near Crystal Rock. At 6:50 p.m. Paul W told others of a medium sized colorful grizzly bedded just above the Lamar River on the west end of Jasper Bench viewed from Coyote Overlook. Kate J, showed us the grizzly. It got up later and walked down to the river corridor looking for something to eat. At 7:10 p.m. Gary G found a taller and larger grizzly in the river corridor south of the Institute. It was also searching for things to eat. From 7:40 through 7:55 p.m. (when it gets dark now) we watched grizzlies on the elk carcass from Footbridge Pullout. A couple of hikers were coming back from Cache Creek and caused four grizzlies to run for the river corridor to the west. The smaller grizzly was making its way back to the carcass as it got dark.
September 18th - Thursday
37 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 72 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I briefly watched a large bull moose on the first clearing behind Ski Slope; it was only in view for a minute or two. We watched a Kestrel this morning, I had not seen one on this trip and thought they had left. At 6:40 a.m. we had a grizzly on the carcass and two more in the area southwest of Footbridge Pullout. At 6:50 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly near the western foothills, but it disappeared quickly into the tree line. At 7:15 a.m. Michael S, Wolf Tracker, had a grizzly just below where the Amethyst Creek enters the Lamar River. It was moving around and in good view for quite a while. Later it had moved up towards the crescent forest moving to the west. At 8:20 a.m. we stopped at Lamar Canyon West as the wolf watchers reported the Junction Butte wolves moving towards Junction Pass. We had good views of eleven black and two gray wolves as they moved up and over the pass. At 8:25 a.m. we had a large black bear near the mixed conifer aspen forest in Slough Creek. At 8:25 a.m. we found another black wolf pup in the rendezvous area, apparently three pups stayed behind this morning (it is getting close to the time when the pups are able to accompany the adults and leave the rendezvous area). At 1:25 p.m. a black bear seen across from the Soda Butte East Pullout. At 7:15 p.m. we had a grizzly near the mixed conifer asper forest in Slough Creek. At 7:30 p.m. Gary G found what we think is the four- and one-half year-old female from the Middle Ridge Family in a clearing to the south of Lamar Canyon West Pullout. At 7:30 p.m. we had one more black pup in the Junction Butte rendezvous area. At 7:45 a.m. I found a grizzly on the east end of the inverted triangle meadow below Druid Peak. We hoped it was one of the Druid Peak Family, but it turned out to be a single grizzly.
September 19th - Friday
34 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 76 degrees out in the park this afternoon. We had a kestrel again this morning. We also watched a golden eagle on the ground with some type of small pray. It entertained us for fifteen minutes, jumping around. At 6:40 a.m. I found a grizzly on Hubbard Hill across the Lamar River moving to the east. Apparently, the grizzly wanted to cross the road, so it kept moving to the east never more than a hundred yards from the road, and often less. At 9:45 a.m. I passed it still close to the river at Confluence Pullout. At 6:45 a.m. Gary G had a grizzly in the tree line near the Chalcedony Fan. At 7:00 a.m. I was watching from just north of Picnic Pullout seeing a few black things. It turned out to be seven black and one gray Junction Butte wolves. They eventually got up and moved to the west with great viewing. They were hunting bison this morning, and they caught and killed a yearling bison in the Amethyst Drainage in good view from several pullouts. At 7:10 a.m. a black bear was seen south in the tree line from Picnic Pullout. At 7:45 a.m. Doug M called seeing the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs near the skyline to the north and between the pullouts of Picnic and Midpoint. We only got a brief view, and they were not seen again today. At 8:00 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly low in the inverted triangle meadow below Druid Peak. We watched it a few times before it disappeared. I decided to go north outside the park this afternoon to watch for grizzlies. I ended up with a bunch (one sow with three cubs of the year, three different sows with yearlings. One set was large, one set was medium size and the third were small for yearlings and very light and blond, a pair of sub adults and seven individual grizzlies. I camped outside the park to the north tonight.
September 20th - Saturday
43 degrees this morning at my campsite north of the park warming up to the low 70's out in the park this afternoon. I watched grizzlies again this morning outside the park. I had a lot: one sow with three cubs of the year, one sow with two light/blond yearlings, one sow with large yearlings, and two different sub adult pairs (one dark and one lighter, and four different lone grizzlies. Returning to the park I had one grouse in the road near Upper Hellroaring Pullout. At 9:15 a.m. we had a bear jam in Little America had what I believe is the four- and one-half year-old female grizzly from the Middle Ridge Family. She was digging where we often have grizzlies dig south and west of Long Pullout. At 9:25 a.m. from Lamar Canyon West I spotted a black and a gray wolf bedded in the Junction Butte rendezvous area (the wolf watchers said they were two adults). At 5:35 p.m. we had a small black bear seen west of the Chalcedony Fan.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Wendy B, Rick M, Taylor R, Jeremy S, Jeff A, Alan C, and Don and Laurie L. From Utah: Paul H, Celia L, and Denny and Pam D. From Colorado: Bob P, and Mark, Carol, and Roch R. From Texas: Carl L and Carol S. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. And from New York: Rick and Maureen B. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Montana: Doug and JoAnn M, and Mike and Kathy W. From Wyoming: Debbie M, Sandi R, Tom H and brother Lon, and Rita R and her friend Will. From Vermont: Don P. From Idaho: Larry M. And from Oklahoma: Shaun and Regina W. Others seen this report: From Montana: Quinn H, Jayden A, Kate J, Audra C, Hunter G, Michael S, Mike S, Jamie H and Michele H, Kyle D, MacNeil L, Grant J, Nate U, Russ K, Evan S and Cara M. From Washington: Aaron M. And from Vermont: John K.
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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