TIME-TEMPERATURE- WEATHER:

Early AM (first light-9AM): Temp not recorded. Just that there is fog that finally clears up by Trout Lake

Late AM (9-noon) not recorded

Evening: 4:30-9PM - It is a truly beautiful evening, with comfortable temps in the 50s and almost no wind.

CROWD: Much busier today. Memorial Day weekend has arrived. Lots of slo-goes now.

SUMMARY FOR THE DAY: Another good morning at Slough with 10 Junction adults and all 6 pups. A hunting party goes west. I make a zip trip to Bozeman and see a Rescue Creek wolf on the way. Upon my return I watch Mollies in the old Druid rendezvous from Trash Can hill.

WOLF SIGHTINGS (total; pack; individuals, pullout, time of day):

22 total wolves from 3 different packs

16 Junctions including 10 adults (8B/2G) and all 6 black pups (missing only 1478F) at Slough from Daves Hill in the morning

1 Rescue Creek wolf (an uncollared black) south of S Curves on the Blacktail late morning

5 Mollies wolves (2B/3G) including 1090F, the uncollared black female, and three grays (two collared) in the old Druid rendezvous seen from Trash Can Hill in the evening

NON-WOLF SIGHTINGS (what & where)

Badger: digging in the old Druid rendezvous in the evening from Trash Can

Black bear: cinnamon bear south of Lower Hellroaring around 9:30AM

Grizzly bear: large grizzly crossing the old Druid rendezvous in the evening.

Bison: lots and lots in various spots, usual places

Coyote: trotting through the old Druid rendezvous

Sandhill crane: Slough

Elk: Slough den area and west of there

Fox: 2: one in the early AM near lower Baronette and one in the evening on the way back, west of Baronette

Pronghorn: Lamar, Little America, OGR

EARLY MORNING HIGHLIGHTS (first light till 9AM) I start my day by climbing up Daves Hill. Early birds have wolves in view already. 7 adults 5B/2G. The pups make an early appearance this morning. Later I count all 10 Junction adults (missing 1478F)

We discuss the odd tidings of the seventh pup last night that we heard about. I suggest that the poor thing was probably dead. Sometimes pups just don’t thrive. Rick reminds us that such things happen sometimes.

There is not a lot of action yet, just wolves wandering about, greeting each other and re-bedding. Of course, whenever the pups are out things get interesting. Sometimes they are followed by an attentive adult but other times they explore on their own.

The same group of nosey bull elk grazing in the meadow below the den. Once again they begin to approach the bedded wolves.

One elk gets quite close to a pup that is momentarily by itself west of the den. The adults do not seem to notice. The pup takes three bold steps towards the elk and the elk bolts back to his companions! The pup seems unsure of what just happened, then bounces back up to the den.

6:10 we have howling. 1385F begins a slow walk to the west but she notices that none of them follow her. She then circles through the western trees then back again towards the den.

A few minutes later the alpha male gets up and walks west. He keeps going and several others form a line behind him. They set off on a hunt past the Parrot rock on the route to Aspen Pass.

1385 remains near the den with the pups, two of which are still playing.

Some people head back to their cars to try to watch where the hunting party goes. I leave, too, since my plan for the day includes a zip trip to Bozeman to take care of some personal business and a bit of re-supply,

I go to Crystal. Michael (Wolftracker) finds them from Boulder, just left of Little Moms Ridge. I get there in time for a quick glimpse of 5 blacks and a gray passing above the small basalt cliff.

LATE MORNING HIGHLIGHTS (9AM-12 noon) Around 9:30 I have made it to the Blacktail. I stop at S Curves when I see a man and his daughter looking intently south through binoculars. They say they are seeing a black bear and a black wolf.

I set up and surprise myself by quickly finding the wolf. It’s an un-collared black, most likely from the Rescue Creek Pack. The wolf trots past the north side of the triangle forest and towards the Antler Rock.

The wolfs arrival draws the attention of some bedded bison, making them stand. But the wolf just keeps going, now on his way southeast. I never find the bear but I thank the people for helping me see another wolf today.

EVENING HIGHLIGHTS (4:30PM-9PM) I get back to the Park around 5PM and drive straight to Slough. The people at Bobs lot tell me I just missed a wolf leaving the den area going west. From their description, I suspect it was 1385F.

I am about to settle in for an evening of pup watching when Maureen radios from Lamar. She is watching Mollies!

So, I pack up and head there, joining many happy scopers on Trash Can Hill. The Mollies are in the eastern part of Chalcedony fan, just left of the eroded area. They can been seen from Exclosure and Geriatric as well.

I count a total of five; three grays (including 1339M) and two blacks (1090F and the uncollared black female). They are bedded in thick sage and pretty sacked out.

I am especially glad to see the uncollared female because she is not always seen with the main pack. 1411F pins her quite roughly so it is understandable. She seems restless this evening, howling frequently. She keeps going from one wolf to another, trying to get them going.

The males are all friendly to her but they remain bedded. She seems to especially like one of the uncollared gray males; twice she gets him to his feet and they do a short fanny dance together. But he re-beds both times.

We also see a large grizzly in the area, crossing the area from east to west. He does not bother the wolves nor the numerous bison in the area. But he does sniff the air a good deal. He stops once to dig a bit, then moves on.

We see a badger out there, digging furiously. Later, a coyote trots by.

We are all eager for the Mollies to get up do something but they seem content to enjoy the pleasant weather.

It is a truly beautiful evening, with comfortable temps in the 50s and almost no wind. We have great critters to watch and lovely human company, which is why I keep coming to Yellowstone.

TODAY I SAW: a grizzly bear, bison (and calves), coyotes, elk, 2 foxes, pronghorn, 22 wolves from 3 packs: 16 Junctions (8B/2G adults and all six pups) 1 Rescue Creek (uncollared black), 5 Mollies (2B/3G with 2 collared grays and 1090F) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.
>BR> 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 infrequently 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)