TIME-TEMPERATURE- WEATHER:

Afternoon: 2-5PM: I leave Bozeman at 2PM in 48 degrees. Cloudy and rainy. 57 in Gardiner. Drizzle while driving east.

Evening: 5-9PM: Still drizzling. I leave Slough around 5:30 to continue east. Temp not recorded. I reach SG at 6pm

Snow Level (roads/landscape): Roads clear. Still ample snow on high peaks (like Druid); none on the low hills and meadows. Everything is beautifully green

Water/Ice Level (ponds and rivers): All rivers running high (normal)

CROWD: normal for mid-May

OVERNIGHT NEWS: Celia tells me that just this morning, the Junction pups moved (or were moved) from the Natal den to the Sage den. All six seen this morning look healthy.

SUMMARY FOR THE DAY: The Park is greening up beautifully. I arrive in Gardiner around 3:30, reach Slough around 4:30. Celia tells me I just missed seeing Junctions take a bison calf. Wolves are currently out of sight so I continue to Silver Gate, arriving at 6PM. Light rain the whole way.

Mollies were seen in SBV this morning.

WOLF SIGHTINGS (total; pack; individuals, pullout, time of day): 0: No wolves for me today but others saw two packs, Junctions & Mollies

COMMENT: In the early evening, members of the Junction pack are seen at Slough on a fresh bison calf carcass behind the SRT. They were out of sight when I arrived in the rain. I only stayed 20 minutes. I would likely have seen them had I stayed longer.

NON-WOLF SIGHTINGS (what & where)

Bison: just east of Mammoth, Tower area, Little America.

Eagle: at Slough from Bobs

Elk: herds in a field near Tom Miner around 3PM

Fox: 1 at Lower Baronette

Geese: Slough from Bobs

Red-Tailed Hawk – Slough from Bobs

Pronghorn: lower hills of OGR, Little America, Slough from Bobs

Ravens: Slough from Bobs near Junctions bison calf carcass

COMMENT: At the top of the OGR I have my visit with Allison and say hello to Chloe, too.

EVENING HIGHLIGHTS (approx 4:30PM-9PM) I am heading to Yellowstone after my wonderful visit to remote islands off Scotland and Ireland. I have been missing some excellent pup sightings (six black puppies have been seen so far) so I am eager to be back in the Park to see them for myself.

I meet Celia at the Bobs Knob lot around 4:40. She and others just saw Junctions take a bison calf in the meadow near the Southern Round Tree. We go out to the knob to watch a while. Alas, the wolves are hidden from sight at the moment, but I do see bird activity (ravens and a bald eagle). It is still raining so I dont stay long.

SPECIAL NARRATIVE: As I drive through Lamar Valley, my hearts home, I see it is not quite at full green-up yet. Only small bison herds graze here at the moment, between the winding channels of Rose Creek. I suspect they will be covering the valley floor quite soon.

WHAT I MISSED: 7 Junctions took a bison calf at Slough near the SRT. Celia says the Mollies were seen this morning in the SBV

TODAY I SAW: bison (and calves), a bald eagle, elk, a fox, geese, a red-tailed hawk, pronghorn and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS I USE, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

DF: Diagonal Forest (a feature east of the Slough den)

DPH: Dead Puppy Hill, the partly treed hill below the crest of Mt. Norris immediately south of Footbridge pullout. Named by coyote researchers before the 1995 wolf reintroduction. The hill has been a popular area with local wolf packs since wolves were reintroduced. It has held several coyote dens over the years, but to my knowledge, this year is the first time a wolf pack has denned on it. The Mollies chose an area on the western slope above the new growth forest, and produced at least two pups, one black and one gray, which were seen a few times during June.

HF: Horizontal Forest (another feather east of the Slough den

HR: Hellroaring (large overlook pullout on the Blacktail)

LCW: Lamar Canyon West (pullout on the western side of Lamar Canyon) that overlooks a lot of, but not all of, the area wolves use at Slough.

MST: Marge Simpson Tree (distinctive tree in Slough Flats) In 2024, the Junctions used the meadows below and left of Marge as their August-October rendezvous.

OGR: "The OGR" Old Gardiner Road (current name for the new road hastily constructed after the 2022 flood on top of the former gravel road between Mammoth and Gardiner)

RP: Round Prairie (big meadow south of Pebble Creek campground)

SB: Soda Butte (or SBV Soda Butte Valley) where Soda Butte Creek flows between Round Prairie and its Confluence with the Lamar River)

SG: Silver Gate (small town just outside the northeast Park entrance)

SRT: Southern Round Tree (distinctive tree south of the Marge Simpson Tree)

UCG: Un-collared gray (Junction 2 yr-old bouncy male). Born to the Rescue Creek Pack, he joined the Junction Pack sometime in February 2025.

YGM: Yellow Grass Meadow (a feature east of and upslope of the Horizontal forest at Slough)