Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
June 9th through 12th 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
~ June 2026 ~
June 9th - Tuesday
48 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 49 degrees out in the park this afternoon. Today we had no power to Cooke City or Silver Gate. A tree had fallen over the power line and started a fire. Forty-eight hours later they had power again. At 5:00 a.m. Jeff A called with a grizzly on the old bison carcass south of Dorothy's Pullout. At 5:15 a.m. two different grizzlies were on the bison carcass southwest of Hubbard Hill. The first was a large grizzly that we have seen before. It has a messed-up lip and mouth probably caused by fighting with another male grizzly. Now it is also missing an ear, probably the same reason for the loss. The second was a sow, and they were a courting pair of grizzlies that paused the courting for a meal at the carcass. Waiting for the courting pair to leave were seven Junction Butte black wolves, the wolf watchers thought most were yearlings (last year's pups). At 7:00 a.m. Gary G had two grizzlies traveling together in the Bowl. Not sure, but probably another courting pair. At 7:10 a.m. Rick M called out another grizzly coming to the carcass that the courting pair had just left. The new grizzly had trouble getting past the wolves to the carcass. I left to look at other places and assume both the wolves and the grizzly got something to eat. At 7:15 a.m. I found a lanky grizzly high north of the Institute digging away. At 8:45 a.m. I found a dark grizzly digging north of Picnic Pullout. At 9:25 a.m. Kim H found a pair of grizzlies on Calfee. It was a large and a medium sized grizzly, we assumed a courting pair, but not sure since the large one led the way out of the meadow. At 10:00 a.m. Gary found a brown medium sized grizzly digging north of the Institute. At 10:30 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl. Soon after Gary found a second small colorful grizzly in the Bowl. It was the Specimen Ridge two sub adults, still together. At 7:00 p.m. we had a large black bear just off the road northwest of Warm Creek. At 7:15 a.m. we had a small cinnamon black bear just off the road near Silver Gate.
June 10th - Wednesday
36 degrees in the morning in Silver Gate warming up to 47 degrees out in the park this afternoon. We had fresh snow on the high mountains this morning, helping us to find the grizzlies in high places. At 4:45 a.m. Jeff A called with a grizzly on the old bison carcass south of Dorothy's Pullout. At 5:00 a.m. two large grizzlies were on and around the bison carcass southwest of Dorothy's Pullout. At 6:00 a.m. Gary found the K-3 grizzly sow with her two big two and one-half year-old cubs on Norris. At 6:30 a.m. first Paul H and later Glenda M had two grizzlies to the north of Hubbard Hill. About this time, we had five black and both gray Junction Butte wolves traveling south on A-Z Meadow. In view a long time taking their time this morning. The wolf watchers thought that these were the adult wolves of the pack. At 8:00 a.m. Gary found a grizzly in the Bowl. At 8:30 a.m. Gary had a small grizzly digging on Calfee. At 9:15 a.m. I found what turned out to be all three of the Druid Peak sub adult grizzlies north of Picnic Pullout. The smaller light sub adult was a way away from the two siblings. At 9:20 a.m. Rick B trying to find the sub adults in his scope found the Institute grizzly sow with two light colored two and one-half year-old cubs north of Picnic. At 11:10 a.m. I found a large grizzly digging on the west end of Druid Peak. At 11:30 a.m. we had a cinnamon black bear in the tree line south of the Institute. At noon Kim H found a small colorful grizzly digging on Middle Ridge. We moved to Lamar Canyon West for a better look and Kim found it again. It was the Middle Ridge light colored sub adult grizzly.
June 11th - Thursday
36 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 60 degrees this afternoon out in the park. At 4:45 a.m. Jeff A called with a grizzly on the carcass south of Dorothy's Pullout. It soon left, but later a grizzly (probably a different smaller grizzly) came to the carcass, then left the carcass and crossed the road to the north. At 5:50 a.m. Paul H had a medium sized grizzly high north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:10 a.m. Gary G found two sub adult grizzlies in a small clearing above the Moosehead. Later this morning they moved to the Inverted Triangle Meadow. At 6:25 a.m. Judy and Gail found the K-3 grizzly sow with her two big two and one-half year-old cubs on Norris. Confused at first as it appeared that two grizzlies were chasing one grizzly, it was the family chasing and playing and later got together to dig. At 6:45 a.m. Kyle M, Yellowstone Wild, called with a grizzly on K-2 Meadow digging. At 6:50 a.m. Doug M found a small colorful grizzly digging near the Western Foothills. At 7:15 a.m. Paul found a dark grizzly digging on Penny Lane. At 8:15 a.m. Randi M found a brown grizzly digging north of the Institute. At 8:25 a.m. I found a light-colored grizzly north of the Institute. I think this was the smaller of the Druid Peak sub adults, now away from her two siblings. At 8:30 a.m. Gary found a medium sized colorful grizzly northeast of the Institute. At 9:00 a.m. I found a dark grizzly moving east to west north of Coyote Pullout. At 9:15 a.m. Doug M found the Institute grizzly sow with her two-light colored two and one-half year-old cubs north of the road and between the pullouts of Coyote and Dorothy's. You had to be between the pullouts to see the family of grizzlies. At 9:25 a.m. I found a medium sized colorful grizzly just west of A-Z Meadow. It was in a small clearing with trees and openings it was difficult to see and watch. At 9:30 a.m. Kim H found a small colorful grizzly on Middle Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook, but it later appeared in the Salad Bowl and was in view for a long time. At 10:35 a.m. Paul H found a grizzly sow with two large dark two and one-half year-old cubs north of Picnic. We have had only three families that stay to the north in Lamar: 1. The Druid Peak sow with three big three and one-half year-old cubs. 2. The Institute sow with two lighter two and one-half year-old cubs. 3. And the Pebble Creek sow with two light colored two and one-half year-old cubs. Not sure where this family came from, since both of the sows we have had, have had light colored two and one-half year-old cubs. A mystery. At 12:10 p.m. Gary found two small colorful sub adult grizzlies in a low clearing on the Snow Cornices. At 12:30 p.m. Randi found a colorful grizzly low and closer northeast of Footbridge Pullout.
June 12th - Friday
32 degrees in the morning in Silver Gate warming up to a warm 72 degrees out in the park this afternoon. At 5:25 a.m. we had a black and a cinnamon black bear together in the tree line on Amethyst Bench. At 5:45 a.m. I watched two black bears race across the Inverted Triangle Clearing west to east. At 6:10 a.m. I found a grizzly north of Picnic Pullout. In sight for only a minute, I saw the grizzly again later, but it also was a brief sighting. At 7:50 a.m. I found a grizzly family with two dark two and one-half year-old cubs north of Picnic Pullout that was not the Institute family, but the new family found yesterday, also north of Picnic. Good viewing for a short time only. At 8:45 a.m. I found the Institute grizzly sow with two light colored two and one-half year-old cubs high north of the Institute. A long look and they were in and out of view for over forty-five minutes.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Jeff A, Bob J, and Jeremy S. From Utah: Paul H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From California: Glenda M. From New Mexico: Lynn C. And from Wyoming: Paul and Christy G. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M, and Walt and Char H. From Colorado: Kim H, and Rick and Tanner H. From Montana: Doug M, Tim G, and Chuck W and daughter Sarah. From Utah: Ed and Sara S, Gail and Judy, and Kevin and Pam A. From Idaho: Jennings and Carma J. And from South Dakota: Bill W. Others seen this report: From Montana: Dan H, Kate J, Hunter G, Quinn H, Anu L Cam H, Michael S, Jayden A, Matt D, and Amanda E.
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
Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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