Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
October 13th through 16th, 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
~ October 2026 ~
October 13th - Tuesday
46 degrees in Idaho Falls at 4:00 a.m. as I left for the park from Idaho Falls, Idaho, warming up to 45 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I found the loose horse still in Slough Creek but with a bull bison bedded next to her. I think she likes bison for company. At 9:15 a.m. and for about fifteen minutes I watched a grizzly behind the Western Foothills. It was good viewing from the Enclosure and from the Confluence Pullouts. It was out again this evening, I watched from 6:00 p.m. to 6:55 p.m. digging a little west of the foothills.
October 14th - Wednesday
33 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 55 degrees with a cool wind this afternoon out in the park. Two cow moose in Round Prairie this morning. The horse was again in view at Slough Creek this morning. At 7:15 a.m. Frank H found a lone black Junction Butte wolf in the old Druid Rendezvous area. It was in view for a long time this morning traveling slowly to the west right across the Lamar River. While I was watching the two moose, someone called with a grizzly on Amethyst Bench. Just before I arrived someone called with a second grizzly on Amethyst Bench. The first grizzly was the two and one-half year-old light colored Ski Slope sub adult and it was digging for quite a while on the bench. The second was a larger dark colored grizzly that was moving this side of the tree line to the west; only in sight for ten minutes. From 9:15 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. I watched a GPS collared black Rescue Creek wolf in Yancy's Hole. You can tell the GPS collars by the usually white battery attachment on the top of the collar; the GPS collar needs more power than the UHF collars. This wolf must have been left behind because it howled every few minutes and then listened for return howls from the rest of the pack. It moved out of sight to the west so not sure if it ever caught up to the rest of the pack.
October 15th - Thursday
27 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 55 degrees out in the park. The loose horse was again in Slough Creek east of the Horizontal Forest. I had a THREE-DOG DAY today. At 7:30 a.m. I found a lone black Junction Butte black wolf far back on Norris heading to the south. Only a few minute sighting, but Frank H and Stacy A got to see the wolf or at least another black wolf in the area. At 7:40 a.m. Laura L, Yellowstone Wild, found a grizzly south of the Confluence. I hiked up the Enclosure to get a look at the grizzly. It was a large dark grizzly slowly walking to the west. In view for a long time early this morning. At 8:20 a.m. Stacy A had moved to Antelope Creek to look for wolves. He found the Rescue Creek pack bedded in a clearing at Antelope Creek. He counted ten black and two grays, which I got to watch briefly. A bull bison walked through the pack, getting them up and moving them, then they went to bed again. Others counted up to nineteen of the total of twenty-one currently in the pack. At 5:00 p.m. I watched a grizzly digging on the backside of Specimen Ridge from Antelope Creek. It was there for over forty-five minutes in a clearing we call Roof Top.
October 16th - Friday
25 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 65 degrees this afternoon out in the park. The loose horse was again in Slough Creek, again east of the Horizontal Forest. I had a THREE-DOG DAY today. At 8:10 a.m. others found the Rescue Creek pack again at Antelope Creek. I got there in time to watch them on the clearing called Par 5. They traveled in a line going up the bare ridge. It was a delight to see. Today the count was the total twenty-one wolves (adults twelve blacks and two grays, and the pups five blacks and two grays.) They continued through Par 6 and a few upper clearings before going out of sight. First time all year that I got to see the entire pack.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Jeff A, Jeff B, Marisa de F, Mike and Jill B, Dan and Lauri L, and Janice and Cindy H. From Wyoming: Dale, Fay and Mel B. From Florida: Carrie P. From North Dakota: Sandy H. From Missouri: Frank H. From California: Glenda M and Kathie L. From Colorado: Mark, Carol, and Roch R. From South Dakota: Phillip H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. And from Tennessee: Stacy A. Bear Watchers: From Montana: Cam H, Doug M, and Jeff and Val B. From Utah: Brett. From Wyoming: Sandi R. Others seen this report: From Montana: George B, Michele H, Jamie H, Jackson A, Dan and Cindy H, Matt D, Michael S, and Laura L.
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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