Yellowstone Up Close and Personal ~ 5 through 8 June 2024 Trip Report Page (2024)

Yellowstone National Park 2024 Trip Reports

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 2024 ~

June 5th - Wednesday

55 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 78 degrees out in the park. I saw one badger kit near the badger den just east of Hitching Post. Apparently, the mom survived being hit by a car with only a broken rear leg, which for a badger is probably better than a broken front leg. Others have seen two or three kits there. I had a bull moose near Pebble Creek today. My best day for counting grizzlies ever - thirty-three different grizzlies today. At 5:15 a.m. Gary G had a large grizzly near the skyline on Specimen Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 5:20 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with three yearlings north of Coyote Overlook. They were not too far from the road and good viewing for quite a while as they were digging. Also, at 5:40 a.m. Gary G found a black bear in the sagebrush near Amethyst Bench. At 6:05 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found a courting pair of grizzlies north of the Institute, the boar was the grizzly we call brown pants as its rearend is brown in color. At 6:15 a.m. I found a dark grizzly high northwest of the Institute. At 6:45 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly to the north of the pullouts of Hitching Post and Footbridge. It turned out to be the grizzly sow with one yearling who then crossed the road north to south. The yearling at first did not want to cross the Soda Butte Creek but the sow found an easier way to cross and off they went to the south. At 6:45 a.m. I found at the same time as Randi M the grizzly sow with two remaining cubs of the year on Norris. Randi M was at the Confluence, and I was at Footbridge Pullout. At 7:00 a.m. I found the K-3 grizzly sow with two cubs of the year on K-2 Meadow this morning. At this time, we had eight grizzlies in view from Footbridge. At 7:35 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly digging low in Bear Meadow. At 7:40 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year again on Ski Slope. Around 8:00 a.m. I heard on the radio from Doug M. (bear watcher) that something interesting was in view to the south in Little America. Then I heard four cubs of the year were in view, then an update that five grizzly cubs of the year were in view. When I arrived, the grizzly family was out of sight. Andrea B went further to the west and found them, and everyone watching walked 300 to 400 years west. Others had them bedded. I put my scope on the pile of grizzlies waiting for them to move to get a count. The sow got up and quickly walked away revealing five small cubs of the year following her. Later several people got a video of them crossing a log in the trees that clearly indicated five cubs of the year. People are wondering if the cubs were all hers since sometimes, they rarely adopt from other grizzly sows. From what I have read the sows are usually related. Now we have been watching two grizzlies with cubs of from in the area, a sow with three cubs of the year that if fact came into view on the skyline above the five-cub family and a grizzly sow with two cubs of the year. We did see both families later and both sows had their three and two cubs of the year with them. Hopefully Bear Management may figure out more about the family. As of writing this report on May 8th, no other sightings that I have heard of except someone said hikers on Specimen Trail saw the sow with the five cubs. I personally have seen four families of grizzlies with four cubs each, one being in 2020 399 with her four. At 8:30 a.m. the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year came out on the skyline above the five-cub family. At 9:40 a.m. two 3 1/2-year-old sub adults were seen high in the meadow just east of the Slough Den. At 9:55 a.m. I found a grizzly digging on the southern end of Specimen Ridge. I went east to get a better view but never saw this grizzly again. At 6:20 a.m. Gary G found a small colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl viewed from the Institute.

June 6th - Thursday

40 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 83 degrees. At least one badger kit around the badger den just east of Hitching Post was there this morning. At 5:15 a.m. Gary G found the grizzly with two cubs of year on Specimen Ridge. They appeared to be hunting elk calves traveling in a zig-zag pattern through the sagebrush. At 5:35 a.m. Gary G found the K-3 grizzly with two cubs of the year on K Meadow. They were better watched from Footbridge Pullout later. At 6:10 a.m. Michele, from Wolf Tracker, had a grizzly bedded above the rock formation on Norris, I finally found it and as it moved it was the grizzly with two cubs of the year. This family was out in view a couple more times in that area this morning. At 6:45 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year high north of Pebble Creek; the limping cub was totally normal and outright today. At 7:35 a.m. the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year were seen again on Specimen Ridge. At 8:00 a.m. there were two gray and one black wolf in the area of the Slough Den. At 8:40 a.m. Doug M (bear watcher) found the grizzly sow with one cub of the year again on Ski Slope. At 9:15 a.m. Gary G found a medium/large colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl near little tree/big tree. At 9:30 a.m. Gary G found a black bear sow with two cinnamon cubs of the year in the tree line east of Amethyst Bench. At 9:45 a.m. I found two cinnamon black bears northwest of YES Pullout, one was light, and one was dark.

June 7th - Friday

44 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 83 degrees this afternoon out in the park. One badger cub was at the den as I drove past today, near Hitching Post. The lone grizzly cub of the year was seen this morning again by itself near Hitching Post, unfortunately the sow with the two remaining cubs of the year were south and across Soda Butte Creek today. Also, of note many people saw a grizzly with two yearling cubs near Warm Springs near the Northeast Entrance this morning. I did not see them; it should be 964 a female from 399 years ago with her first litter. I saw them last year in this area with two cubs of the year. At 5:30 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year on Middle Ridge. It is the first time we have seen them on any ridge except Specimen Ridge. At 5:40 a.m. Gary G found a dark grizzly in the large meadow behind the eastern side of Jasper Bench, it continued traveling to the south eventually going over the top of the Bowl. At 5:45 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year on Norris, about the same clearing as yesterday. At 6:10 a.m. Randi M had a large black bear on the Northern Divide Ridge. At 6:15 a.m. I had a black bear low on Ski Slope. At 8:15 a.m. a courting pair of black bears were at the entrance to Pebble Creek, a black sow, and a large dark cinnamon boar. At 10:20 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 11:30 a.m. we had a colorful grizzly digging in the ravine east of the Slough Den. At 11:40 a.m. 1479F, the black yearling of the Junction Butte wolf pack was moving around the den area. At 5:00 p.m. we watched a large black bear grazing at the Soda Butte Picnic area. At 5:40 p.m. Gary G found the grizzly sow with one yearling cub south on # 1 finger on Norris. At 6:40 p.m. Gary G showed me a colorful grizzly digging northwest of the Institute.

June 8th - Saturday

42 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 80 degrees out in the park. I found a bull moose south of Soda Butte East Pullout and Randi M found a moose in a strange place for a moose on Amethyst Bench. Soda Butte Creek and Lamar River are really high and very muddy. At 5:20 a.m. I found a grizzly family on Ski Slope. It was a grizzly with two yearling cubs. We have never seen this family and they were moving today. Leaving Ski Slope traveling west crossing the Amethyst Drainage then up through Bear Meadow and then over the top of the mountain all before 7:15 a.m. At 6:00 a.m. Gary G found a grizzly digging on the # 2 finger on Norris. At 6:40 a.m. Gary G and Randi M had two black bears on the north side of K Meadow. At 6:40 a.m. I found a courting pair of grizzlies north of Picnic. The boar had brown pants and it appeared to be the same sow that was with him a few days ago. At 6:50 a.m. we had a black bear traveling on the east side of K Meadow making two bull bison watch him cross. At 5:45 p.m. I found the grizzly sow with three cubs of the year high on Middle Ridge digging just below the skyline. At 6:45 p.m. we had a black bear grazing in the Slough Bowl. At 7:00 p.m. Jeff and Val B showed me the two 3 1/2-year-old sub adult grizzlies digging high in the meadow east of the Slough Den.

People Seen

Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Wendy B, Dan and Laurie L, Kristina G, and Janice and Cindy H. From Oregon: Bruce and Kelly H. From Utah: Paul H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From Illinois: Sandy and Ken H. From Idaho: Ray L and Kathy. From Tennessee: Terry and Betty C. From California: Kathie L. And From New Mexico: Lynn C. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Washington: Randi M. From Mississippi: Gary G. From Wyoming: Terri W. From Colorado: Rick and Tanner H. From Montana: Doug M, Jeff and Val B, Chuck W and Debbie H and Margaret L. From California: Jim and Amber H. From Utah: Ed and Sara S, Kevin and Pam A, Chris B and some of this family, and Gail and Julie. From Minnesota: Kevin and Barb B. From Idaho: Jennings and Carma S and Blake M. From Illinois: Chicago Bob and Margaret P. And from New Mexico: Bob W. Other seen this report: From Montana: Dan H, Quinn H, Michael S, Andrea B, Audra C, Hunter G, Jim H, Scott B, Tim R, Kate J, Grant J, Carl S, Bob L and Cliff B. From Florida: Bill L. 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

Yellowstone National Park

Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park