Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
May 16th through 19th 2026
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 2026 ~
May 16th - Saturday
36 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 58 degrees out in the park this afternoon. At 5:25 a.m. Frank H/Celia L let us know of a grizzly south of Hubbard Hill. It was a smaller grizzly that appeared to be lanky. At 5:45 a.m. I found a dark grizzly northeast of Hubbard Hill. It was moving quickly and not in sight very long. At 6:15 a.m. Kate J, Silver Gate Guides, showed us a large black bear near Chalcedony Fan. At 6:20 a.m. I found a medium sized grizzly high in Secret Passage which is north of Fisherman's. Again, we were watching from the Institute. At 6:25 a.m. Randi M found a cinnamon black bear in the Inverted Triangle. At 6:30 a.m. Don P and Terri W told us about a grizzly in the Bowl. It was the two- and one-half year-old light-colored Ski Slope now sub adult grizzly. At 7:30 a.m. Wendy B called from Slough Creek with grizzlies near the Slough Creek den. When we arrived the Middle Ridge grizzly sow and one two and one half year old light cub were surrounded by six of the Junction Butte wolves, they were all black. The grizzly family had roamed into the Slough Creek den area. For the next forty-five minutes the wolves harassed the grizzlies to leave the area. The cub was charging into the wolves, and the sow came to help. The wolves would bed down but then get up and approach the grizzly family. After a while the grizzlies moved off to the east making the wolves feel better. At 8:00 a.m. Randi M found a courting pair in the Bowl. We believe this is the Ski Slope grizzly sow and the large boar courting her. Interestingly, the small two and one half year old former cub was only a few hundred yards from the courting pair. At 8:50 a.m. Kyle D called with a grizzly digging northeast of the Soda Butte Cone. In view for about fifteen minutes before moving up and out of sight. At 8:55 a.m. I found a large cinnamon black bear on the # 2 finger on Norris. At 9:00 a.m. Gary G found a black bear northeast of Footbridge Pullout. Not in sight very long. At 9:20 a.m. there was a small dark grizzly on the skyline above Ski Slope. It was in view for eight to ten minutes moving south, sometimes stopping to dig, but mainly moving to the south. At 9:40 a.m. a black collared yearling wolf moving to the south of Picnic Pullout. It took its time and lots of people got to see the Junction Butte wolf. At 9:50 a.m. Randi M found the three and one-half year-old Druid Peak light-colored sub adult northwest of Picnic Pullout. It was in and out of sight for about thirty minutes. At 11:05 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly digging and moving off of Calfee. A long view and good watching with the high morning light. At 10:30 a.m. a brief sighting as I found a grizzly moving up and over on Penny Lane viewed from Picnic Pullout. Only a few of us got to see this grizzly. At 11:10 a.m. Gary G found a cinnamon black bear on the # 3 finger on Norris. At 6:15 p.m. we had a courting pair of grizzlies on Ski Slope. They were in view for a long time moving around, once they went to the south into Bear Meadow. At 6:45 a.m. Gabriel M found the Specimen Ridge grizzly sow with two large two-year-old cubs on a really high meadow just east of the Bell. It was terrible light, but Gabriel helped us zero in on it. It was the first time we have seen this family this year. At 7:00 p.m. the Confluence grizzly (we have seen this medium sized grizzly several times in the area), found a cow bison carcass. Apparently, they both the (bison cow and the newborn calf) had died during giving birth. The wolves had eaten the calf, and now the grizzly was on the bison cow.
May 17th - Sunday
37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning but a cold 29 degrees out in the park but this afternoon it warmed up to 47. This morning Terri W had a pelican fly around us near the Institute. Pelicans are rare in Lamar; they prefer the Yellowstone River and Lake. At 5:45 a.m. the grizzly was on the carcass south of the Confluence. At 6:00 a.m. a small black bear was in the tree line behind the eastern foothills. At 6:05 a.m. there was a large black bear near the eastern foothills. It did stop to scratch on the tree that sits out into the meadow, before following the small black bear into the woods. At 6:30 a.m. Kate J, Silver Gate Guides, found a grizzly north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:45 a.m. we had a small grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 6:45 a.m. we saw a large grizzly moving in the Bowl. Not in sight too long and moved over the hill and out of sight. At 8:15 a.m. Kevin M called with a large grizzly moving west from the Chalcedony Fan. With good directions I found this grizzly from viewing near the Institute. At 8:45 a.m. I found a small grizzly running on the skyline from west to east. This was high south of the Institute where we had viewed the Specimen Family last night. At 8:50 a.m. I found a pair of courting grizzlies on the Skyline south of the Institute. They were moving slowly with larger boar following the sow over the skyline. Then a smaller grizzly came into view and followed the courting pair over the skyline. My guess is that the Specimen Ridge grizzly sow kicked out the cubs since we viewed them last evening and is now running with a boar. At 9:00 a.m. Mike F found a large black bear on Middle Ridge from viewing at the Institute. At 9:35 a.m. Gary G and Randi M found a small colorful grizzly digging and moving in the large meadow behind the eastern end of Jasper Bench. At 12:45 p.m. Randi found a medium sized grizzly digging in the top of A-Z Meadow and moving to the east. I was at the Institute and when Randi lost sight of the grizzly, I watched it from the Institute as the grizzly had moved into the Bowl. At 2:30 p.m. we had a black and a coco puff colored wolf was near the Slough Creek den area. At 4:50 p.m. Joyce C, using her binoculars, found a medium sized dark grizzly on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 5:15 p.m. Kim C found a small colorful grizzly digging north of the Soda Butte East Pullout. Good viewing as it was flipping over bison pies about five hundred yards away.
May 18th - Monday
31 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 47 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I had a cow moose cross the road north to south just east of the Northeast Entrance tonight on my way back to Silver Gate. At 5:35 a.m. I found a dark grizzly digging in the Bowl near Big Tree/Little Tree. At 5:45 a.m. Randi M had a small grizzly cross the road north to south just east of Coyote Pullout. At 5:50 a.m. Terri W found a larger grizzly in the area with the small grizzly. We had some bird activity and both grizzlies visited the area, a carcass. At 6:05 a.m. Kim C had a medium sized grizzly digging in the willows south at the Confluence. At 6:10 a.m. Hunter G, Silver Gate Guides, called with two grizzlies on the bison carcass south of the Confluence. I walked up the trail east of the Confluence to get a better look. A new and large grizzly was on the carcass, and the medium sized grizzly was about twenty yards away hoping the large grizzly would leave the carcass. The medium sized (Confluence grizzly) had enjoyed staying on the carcass last evening but had been pushed off during the night. At 6:45 a.m. others had found the Institute grizzly family with two large two-year-old cubs northeast of Coyote Pullout. They were high in the sagebrush and digging away. In view on and off most of the day. In the morning they came down into a low green grass area for great viewing. Both cubs are quite light, one lighter than the other. We watched in the afternoon from Fisherman's Pullout and then just east of Coyote Pullout. At 6:50 a.m. I found a lanky grizzly high north of Coyote Pullout. In view for a minute or two. But the small and large grizzly from earlier had somehow crossed the road to the north. The large one had some color, and we watched it move over the hill. The second smaller was seen bedded in some sagebrush before moving north and out of sight. At 7:00 a.m. Gary G found another grizzly, this one on Jasper Bench, moving to the west. That made seven different grizzlies seen from Coyote Pullout this morning. At 8:25 a.m. from the Footbridge Pullout I found a courting pair of grizzlies in the flats near the old Druid Rendezvous area. In good view for quite a while, they moved into the tree line but then showed up in K Meadow. The boar laid down in the snow for a while before getting up and following the sow. At 8 30 a.m. Kim C found a black bear way up in the snow cornices viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 10:10 a.m. Blake M showed us a small colorful grizzly digging on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 10:15 a.m. Gary G found a cinnamon black bear on the # 2 finger on Norris. Later the grizzly on # 1 finger on Norris must have got to close to the cinnamon black bear because we viewed the cinnamon black bear running away on # 2 finger. At 1:40 p.m. at Slough Creek I had a cinnamon black bear walk through the den area. At 3:00 p.m. from Slough Creek I watched two black wolves around the den. At 3:30 p.m. Gary G found two sub adult grizzlies on Middle Ridge. I think these are the two Specimen Ridge sub adults. So, the sow has kicked them off, and probably with a boar somewhere.
May 19th - Tuesday
24 degrees this morning in Silver Gate but only 17 degrees out in the park this morning warming up to 54 degrees this afternoon out in the park. At 5:30 a.m. Tom H found a grizzly that turned into two grizzlies south of Coyote Pullout viewed from Dorothy's Pullout. This was the small and large two that were in the area of that carcass yesterday. The large one had left, and the small one visited the carcass later. At 5:45 a.m. I found the Institute grizzly family, sow with two large two and one-half year-old cubs northeast of Coyote Pullout. The same meadow as yesterday. They were looking down before them and all three were bunched up. Never saw what was upsetting them. At 6:30 a.m. Doug M had a black bear in a high clearing below the Bell. At 6:35 a.m. Gary G had a large grizzly traveling south near Chalcedony Fan. With great directions I viewed the grizzly from the Institute. At 6:55 a.m. Gary G from the hill above Footbridge Pullout had two grizzlies around the Confluence carcass. Also, Gary was watching the courting pair of grizzlies in about the same place as yesterday. I moved on for other sightings, but later the courting pair got to visit the carcass at the Confluence. At 7:20 a.m. Kyle called with wolves in Round Prairie. We all headed that way, half expecting maybe the Mollies wolf pack (four grays and two blacks), but it was the Junction Butte wolves. They were at Hellroaring Slopes last evening and had traveled all the way past the den to Round Prairie during the night. Today there were eleven blacks and both grays. They chased a moose after I left but were not successful. They were out of sight after that. At 7:40 a.m. I finally got to look at the fingers. Bruce P had a grizzly on the # 2 finger on Norris, which I now got to watch. At 8:20 a.m. Gary G found another grizzly on the # 3 finger on Norris digging away. At 9:00 a.m. I found a colorful medium sized grizzly on the Inverted Triangle below Druid Peak viewed from Picnic Pullout; It was not the Druid Peak sub adult, but a larger and less colorful grizzly. Only in view for ten minutes or so. At 9:30 a.m. from the Institute I found a medium sized grizzly in the saddle high to the northeast. It was in view for twenty minutes or so, digging and moving slowly to the east and out of sight. At 9:45 a.m. Terri W found a small colorful grizzly above the Square Meadow viewed from the Institute. It was in view on and off for thirty minutes. At 10:30 a.m. Kim from Lamar Canyon East Pullout had a medium sized colorful grizzly northeast of Coyote Overlook. In view for fifteen minutes or so. At 11:30 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly north of Aspen Pullout in Little America viewed from Slough Creek. This was the Middle Ridge two and one-half year-old cub who must have been kicked out by the sow during the night. Marisa F had viewed them still together last evening around 8:00 p.m. So, another family has dispersed. With so many sows with two and one-half year-old cubs this spring, we expected this would happen; but hoped it would be later in the year. Courting in grizzlies is usually mid-May through the first week or two of July. At 1:00 p.m. we had a bear jam at Upper Barronette Pullout with a large cinnamon black bear grazing to the south of the road. I did have a THREE DOG DAY today. At 5:55 p.m. Kim and Joyce C showed me the Pebble Creek grizzly sow with two large two-year-old cubs high northeast of Pebble Creek Campground. At 6:00 Kim told me of a black bear on the # 3 finger to the south. At 6:15 p.m. Gary had a medium sized grizzly digging near the Moosehead viewed from Picnic Pullout. At 7:00 p.m. Gary found a medium sized colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl, also viewed from Coyote Overlook.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Jeff A, Wendy B, Bob P, Melba C, Carolyn G, Marisa F, and Mike and Jill B. From Oregon: Michael and Debbie O. From Missouri: Frank H. From Utah: Celia L, Charlie M, Denny and Pam D. From California: Glenda M, Kathie L, Mark M, and Joe M. From Colorado: John and Lisa M, and Mark and Carol R. From England: Jakob B. From Idaho: Roger and Lynda S. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. And from Wyoming: Dale and Fay. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, Chris B, CD and Brenda C. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Oklahoma: Paul S. From South Carolina: Don P and Margaret P. From Alabama: Marcia H. From Tennessee: Mike and Donna F. From Wyoming: Terri W, Rita R and Will, and Gabriel M. From Iowa: Terry N, Tom H, Mark S, and Dan S. From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C, Blake R, and Blake M. From Montana: Doug M. From Ohio: Tim and Kerrie O. Others seen this report: From Montana: Cam H, Kate J, Michael S, Jayden A, Hunter G, Quinn H, Audra C, Grant J, and Anu L. From Florida: Mark L. From Colorado: Jim F. And from Washington: Aaron M.
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
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