A grizzly bear shown ambling past a trail camera in a video taken at about 10 p.m. Thursday near West Yellowstone, Montana, is likely a huge male that’s been one of the first bears to emerge from hibernation for several years.
The video was captured by a camera set up by professional wildlife photographer Trent Sizemore, who lives in West Yellowstone.
“I believe it’s the same big male I’ve gotten for three years in a row now. A friend that has cameras up in the same area says he’s been coming for five years,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
The short clip shows the impressively sized bear walking through a snowstorm, apparently in no big hurry.
Right On Time
Early-to-mid March is usually when grizzlies start popping out in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Mature male grizzlies typically emerge first. Females with cubs are usually the last to arrive on the scene, sometimes not showing up until mid-May.
Sizemore said the grizzly in the video is right on time again this year, as are other bears.
“This bear usually comes out around this week, or one is seen in Lamar or Hayden Valley area too. Tracks were seen last week in Lamar Valley, Black Sand Basin, and Island Park,” he said.
The National Park Service on Wednesday reported this year’s first verified sign of grizzly activity in Yellowstone National Park – fresh tracks in the park’s northern section.
Where Was He Going?
The first order of business for grizzlies waking up from hibernation is to find food.
There’s little doubt that the grizzly in the video was headed out to seek something to gorge on, Sizemore said.
He added that the camera, which he set up on Sunday, has captured video of various critters, as early spring wildlife activity picks up.
“In the past, I believe a house in the area was feeding corn to deer, which attracts the bear I don’t know if that’s still the case, but there’s a lot of deer, moose, and fox on the camera this week,” Sizemore said.
Will Spirit Show?
As the 2025 grizzly-watching season begins, a question on many people’s minds is whether there will be any sightings of Spirit – the last cub of Wyoming’s legendary Grizzly 399.
Spirit was born in 2023 and emerged from the den with 399 in May of that year.
The cub’s sex was never determined for certain, but because of its exceptional size, it was widely assumed to be a male.
Grizzlies usually split from their mothers at age two. That means that under normal circumstances, Spirit would have struck out on his own this summer.
Spirit was thought to be with 399 when she was struck and killed by a vehicle south of Jackson in October 2024.
Sprit hasn’t been seen since. However, many of 399’s fans assume that the cub was grown up enough to stand a good chance of making it through the winter and emerging again this spring.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
