Yellowstone National Park 2025 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
25 through 28 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 25th - Thurday
33 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 80 degrees out in the park this afternoon. This morning at about 6:30 a.m. we had the Star Link satellites go over the sky south to north lasted about four minutes. Lots of orange and white stripes crossing the sky. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 7:20 a.m. Gary G had a cinnamon black bear north of Picnic Pullout. At 7:25 a.m. I had a black bear southeast of Picnic Pullout close to the tree line. At 11:00 a.m. through 1:15 p.m. we watched four different black bears from Dave's Hill at Slough Creek: (1) a large black bear in Crystal Drainage this side of the river, (2) in the Crystal Corridor near the creek. (3) a cinnamon black bear east of the Slough Creek den area, and (4) a cinnamon black bear near Crystal Rock. At 11:30 a.m. Gary found the four- and one-half year-old female grizzly (Junction Butte/Middle Ridge) eating berries in the aspens below Bob's Knob. At 2:20 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear with two cinnamon cubs, one really light, on the west end of Round Prairie. At 2:35 p.m. we had a medium sized grizzly seventy-five yards up hill and north of the road at Ice Box Canyon. At 6:10 p.m. Gary found a black bear south of Picnic Pullout in the tree line. At 6:25 p.m. I found a large black bear on the skyline north of Picnic Pullout. At 7:00 p.m. we had all six black pups of the Junction Butte wolf pack and two black adults moving to the east. First spotted on Jasper Bench they moved east and bedded for a while on Amethyst Bench. This is the first time all six pups have been seen together in Lamar Valley.
September 26th - Friday
34 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to a hot 80 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. At 6:50 a.m. I started my morning viewing on Hubbard Hill. I was surprised when Michael S, Wolf Tracker, called with grizzlies just east of there and this side of the river. It was the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak Family). I have never seen her south of the road in the three years we have watched them (as cubs of the year two years ago, as yearlings last year, and this year with two-year-olds); but she crossed this morning. After a while the bear jam was large and it appeared that the sow wanted to cross back to the north, but with the crowds that did not happen. Closest I have been to this family in three years. Great view and well over an hour of watching. At 8:30 a.m. ten black and one gray wolf of the Junction Butte moved west from south on the western part of Jasper Bench. Later they caught and killed a cow bison near the skyline south and west of Fisherman's Pullout. The wolf watchers viewed more of them at dusk coming and eating on the bison carcass. At 10:00 a.m. a black bear was seen east of Crystal Creek. At 10:15 a.m. the four- and one-half year-old female (Junction Butte/Middle Ridge) were seen in the Slough Creek Bottoms again eating berries. At 10:30 a.m. we had a black bear east of the Slough Creek den. At 5:00 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear near the new bison cow carcass southwest of Fisherman's. It was chased off by a black adult wolf. At 6:00 p.m. Gary saw a second cinnamon black bear near the bison cow carcass; it was also running from a wolf.
September 27th - Saturday
33 degrees in the morning at Silver Gate warming up to 73 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I had a THREE DOG DAY today. Today at 5:45 a.m. (well before daylight of about 6:40 a.m.), the Star Link satellites were again in view moving south to north. Today they were like I have seen pictures, about ten bright round objects following the lead satellite. I only watched for two minutes as they were halfway across the sky before I found them. At 7:00 a.m. we hiked up a hill a little to the north of Coyote Overlook. From there we spotted ten black and two gray wolves coming from the west end of Jasper Bench and returning to the cow bison carcass (Paul H had a few more wolves after I left the area). From 8:15 a.m. through 10:30 a.m. we watched the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak Family) now back across the road to the north of Picnic Pullout digging. The viewing was not great, often seeing only one or two at a time. Only twice did we see all four in view. At 11:15 a.m. from Dave's Hill in Slough Creek Gary found a black bear eating berries in the Crystal Creek Drainage. At 1:00 p.m. I briefly watched the grizzly north of Ice Box Canyon digging and turning over rocks. They have coned off the sides of the road near there, but the tourists just moved the cones to see and watch the grizzly at about seventy-five yards. I came back into the park this evening at 5:15 p.m. and the grizzly was in the same area with a different bunch of tourists moving cones and parking.
September 28th - Sunday
34 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to the high 70's this afternoon out in the park. At 6:50 a.m. Gary found a medium sized dark grizzly this side of Amethyst Bench. It soon moved up across the bench and out of sight into the tree line. At 8:00 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three two-year-old cubs (Druid Peak Family) again to the north of Picnic Pullout. Only in view for fifteen minutes as they soon moved to the east and out of sight. At 8:15 a.m. we noticed wolves south of Trashcan Pullout in Lamar Valley. It was the Junction Butte wolves again and we have nine (seven blacks and two grays). They had a carcass of some kind and moved back to the west. The wolf watchers were high north of Coyote and Dorothy's Pullout and could watch the adults come west. We did not go up high, but Paul H said they watched all six pups and one gray and one adult black wolf 1545M. The pup group was on the west end of Jasper Bench and the wolf watchers watched as the adults came back and regurgitated to the pups. So, with the nine adults we watched in Lamar and the eight in the pups group all seventeen Junction Butte wolves were seen today. At 9:30 a.m. from Dave's Hill in Slough Creek Gary found the four- and one-half year-old female sub adult grizzly (Junction Butte/Middle Ridge) again eating berries just north of the pullout below Bob's Knob. From 9:30 a.m. through 10:30 a.m. we watched three separate black bears: (1) a black bear above the Diagonal Forest, (2) a larger black bear in the Yellow Grass Meadow, and (3) a cinnamon black bear on east side of the Crystal Creek.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Dan and Laurie L, Wendy B, Jeff A and Janice and Cindy H. From Utah: Paul H, and Celia L. From South Dakota: Sam and Ginny G. From Colorado: Bob P and John C. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From Texas: Carl L and Carol S. From California: Kathie L. And from Idaho: Roger and Lynda S. Bear Watchers: from Mississippi: Gary G. From Montana: Margaret L, Bob J, Doug M, Jack G, and Sarah W with mom and aunt. From Vermont: Don P. From Wyoming: Debbie M and Tom H. And from the Midwest: Bob A and Steve S. Others seen this report: From Montana: Kate J, Hunter G, Jayden A, Michael S, Audra C, Russ K, Alan K, Mike S, Quinn H, Jamie H, Grant J, Matt L, Kyle D, Ashea M, and Carl S. From Vermont: John K. From Washington: Aaron M. From Idaho: Scott B. And from Wyoming: H.
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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