Grizzly Encounter: Never Let Your Guard Down
Yellowstone National Park
The day was June 18th, 2024, and what better way to spend your day off than exploring Yellowstone’s wonders with a camera in hand? This time of year, there is so much going on in the Northern Range that it’s hard to go elsewhere. Nonetheless, my curiosity led me to take a trip into the interior of Yellowstone to investigate what was going on near Hayden Valley and Yellowstone Lake—another hotspot for wildlife. I didn’t know then, but it was a day I’ll never forget!
I got an early start to the morning and was in the park before sunrise. The sun was rising just as I was going over Dunraven Pass. It was a brisk morning; in fact, it even began snowing—yes, it can snow in June and can and has snowed every month of the year in Yellowstone! I stopped in Hayden Valley and opportunistically photographed some bison and elk that were pretty close, but my intent was to find grizzlies or wolves. Hayden Valley is a beautiful spot to photograph, but it’s usually socked in by fog early in the morning. I decided to keep moving, traveling further toward the East Entrance, where I was met by a ranger who informed me that they had closed the East Entrance due to inclement weather. As an experienced winter driver, I chose to continue a bit further on the still-open portion of the road. I was inclined to scope out the situation to try and capture wildlife in such weather, considering it was, in fact, June. I drove to Sylvan Lake, where I was greeted by the very thing I was seeking–grizzly bears!
I stopped at the first pullout where I would see if anything was moving around the lake’s edge. I glanced at my side mirror and saw a sow grizzly bear with a yearling cub walking across the road in my direction! With my camera ready to go, I immediately began photographing it from the safety of my vehicle. I watched it go into the thicket, foraging on something I could not see. Since the East Entrance station was closed, there were no cars at first, but this lasted only a short time as I noticed cars coming from that direction. I was the only one there, and the tourists didn’t seem to find the grizzly and cub that were 5 feet off the road because they kept driving by as if they were on a mission. Watching the bear’s behavior, I noticed that mom was getting annoyed by all the cars driving by, causing her to rear up in the thicket where I would occasionally get a couple of shots off. She was clearly agitated, and the incoming traffic was too much for the sow, so she led her cub to the other side of the road back into the forest, heading East, where I lost sight of her.
Yellowstone National Park
Anticipating her movements, I moved over to the next pullout about 200 yards in the same direction and waited. A car pulled into the same pullout, and a woman exited her vehicle and began crossing the road in the direction of the vault toilet, which was on the same side the bear was on. I spoke up and said, “Hey! Are you headed towards that toilet over there, and do you have bear spray on you?” (Bear spray is a highly effective deterrent in bear encounters when accessible and used correctly.) She replied, “Yes, but I don’t have any bear spray.” I said, “I wouldn’t go there. I just watched a sow grizzly with a cub about 30 seconds ago, and it’s headed in that direction.” She replied accordingly by saying that she’d hit the next bathroom. She turned back, got in her car, and drove off. Within seconds, the sow and cub emerged from behind the vault toilet—crisis averted!
That visitor, unaware of the danger, could have faced a life-threatening situation. Bears, especially when with their cubs, can be unpredictable and potentially dangerous. This could have easily ended very differently for the woman, given the close encounter and the absence of bear spray. The lesson here is clear – never let your guard down, even if you’re just a few feet off the road. You never know what might be lurking around the corner!
Whether you’re new to bear country or need a refresher, I encourage you to visit—or revisit—your “Bear Aware” guidelines. These guidelines provide essential information on how to behave in bear country, including how to use bear spray, how to identify bear signs, and what to do in case of a bear encounter. Click the link here to learn more: https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear/be-bear-aware/bear-encounters
Now that everything was safe and sound, I proceeded to do what I came there for. Enjoy these photos as this sow and cub put on a show for all the incoming tourists who observed this beautiful animal doing what it does!
Photos and blog text by YW Photographer/Naturalist Kyle Moon
