What's Happening at the GWDC

 Read more about the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center...

This issue, let's start with updates on the birds-of-prey. We've been telling you about the Raptor Festival in Bozeman on October 6th and 7th. If you're in the area, stop by Bridger Bowl and see our Education team and our Raptor representatives in action. This past Monday we presented an outreach program at the Big Sky Library to young children (everyone was on their best behavior, including our birds!), which was a lot of fun and very informational. We are planning to take the birds off exhibit around November 1st, depending on weather, so come on in and see them soon.

What's up with the wolves? Besides feeling frisky in the cooler temperatures, they have been hunting, fishing, and thriving. We are building a new mound in the High Country wolf habitat at the end of this week, which will provide another level of visual and physical stimulation and activity for them.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee and the Living With Wildlife Foundation visited us and the bears last Friday. Together we ironed out the details of shifting the Bear-Resistant Container Testing Program over to the GWDC. You will read more about this in our Fall Appeal, which should show up in your mailbox in another couple of weeks, but the long and short of it is that we have assumed the responsibility and cost of keeping this program running. The benefits of container testing are widespread, especially in our wildlife corridor and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. You can read more about these products and see a list of certified containers here. Testing provides enrichment for the bears, safety for consumers, and one heck of a good show for visitors to the Center. The transition will take place in the spring.

In other bear news, there have been two recent interactions in our region between hunters and wild grizzlies. Details are still coming in, but while there are always grizzlies in the Island Park area of Idaho, just west of Yellowstone Park and the GWDC, two elk hunting incidents within the month could mean the bears are extra hungry and counting more on the elk hunt to get calories than in the past. Many sources of food for grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone area have lessened and, of course, it has been a very droughty year. We mention this to remind everyone that carrying bear spray saves lives. Please, if you are recreating, hunting, or spending time in bear country, be responsible and safe. Do not hit the trail without your bear spray.

Finally, on behalf of our entire cast of animal keepers and birds, bears, and wolves, a special thanks to Bill Powers for volunteering these last couple weeks with us. You'll read more about him in the upcoming Howls & Growls Newsletter, which is printed and almost ready to take to the Post Office. Thanks Bill for your time, expertise, and sense of humor!

Every issue of our email newsletter will have updates on our animals, and we will still be sending quarterly newsletters through the mail. We know it's not the people who draw you to the GWDC, as friendly and interesting as we are, so we'll keep you posted on the heart of the Center: the bears, wolves, and birds.

If you haven't been inside our Naturalist Cabin just yet, we understand. We've come a long way baby. This is how it looked a few years back when our buddy Bill Powers took this picture. You should see it today. It's just another facet of the GWDC that educates and inspires visitors with incredible views, informative signage and displays, and hospitable learning spaces for our education staff to use. Come visit and see our progress, and see the Education Department in action.

September has been busy for the education folks here at the Center. Attendance has increased from August, meaning there are many individuals, couples, and tour groups to talk with. The range and the number of questions fielded by our education staff in an average day would knock your socks off. From nutritional requirements of wolves to hibernation patterns of bears to where to get a good pizza in town, our naturalists know their stuff. These last couple weeks they have been occupied with covering the habitats, presenting programs, leading and interpreting bear and wolf enrichment, and traveling to a variety of outreach programs.
Just this morning, GWDC educators met with juniors and seniors from the West Yellowstone K-12 School to talk about internships, work-study opportunities, and other educational programs in the works for local and regional students. We are excited about building an even more hands-on, challenging, and relevant learning environment here at the Center, and involving our community and our young people in much more meaningful ways. Stay tuned for new educational developments here and on our website, which should have a whole new look and feel in the coming weeks.

The education team has also begun weekly After-School Programs for those K-6 students who are enrolled through the school. So far, so good! This afternoon, the After-School kids will be playing Bear Safety Charades. Imagine trying to get your classmates to guess that you are a hiker without bear spray who throws his backpack at a bear and runs screaming! See? Learning really can be fun! Just ask our education staff.

Learn more about the GWDC Education programs... 

New and Exciting Opportunities to Support the GWDC

Photo by Elise Hickey

One of the beauties of being a not-for-profit organization is that in some way, everything we do and you do benefits the animals we care for. We are able to do what we love for the sake of wildlife, the ecosystem, art, science, the community, students - whatever the motive, the results are all for the greater good. This is why asking for support and offering a variety of ways in which to help the GWDC is so much fun. Every gift and every effort is a win-win-win. Yesterday morning, we posted a photo of Sam with a small squash on Facebook. Since then, we have received a fantastically generous donation for pumpkins, made a date for next week with the nicest pumpkin farmer you'll ever meet, and made plans with the After-School program to decorate a portion of our windfall with edible markers before feeding them to the bears. See? Win-win-win! Thank you Robin for making this informal pumpkin festival possible!

 

Finally, just to come full circle with this win-win-win topic, we want you to know we're always giving back to the community. Special events are not just for hosting! We have been busy supporting local fundraisers and functions. This month we have participated in and donated to The Happening, the Old Faithful Cycle Tour, and the Pine Needle Stampede, which will take place this Saturday on the Rendezvous Trails. Saturday is also a fee-free day in Yellowstone National Park, so if you come through here, stop on by. Thanks again for all you do. We look forward to hearing from you soon! 

 

 

Photographs and Artwork from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

Photo by Gretchen Heine

We are honored to have many artists and photographers visit and support the GWDC. Their vision and talents inspire and enliven our work here, so we thought it would be nice to feature some of their work in every issue of our newsletter. "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edgar Degas

Follow us and see more great photos on Facebook... 

We hope you enjoyed this issue, learned a little something, and felt like you were here with us for just a few minutes. It's a pretty special place to be. We hope you have a great couple of weeks, and make plans to come see us soon. Thank you!

 

 

The GWDC Staff