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Hello and welcome!
Thanks for dropping in to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, a not-for-profit, AZA-accredited wildlife park and educational facility, with a diverse crew of staff and volunteers. We're glad you're here with us, and we hope to see you in person soon.
As usual, there's a lot going on in this issue. Enjoy the photos and the news. Get to know our amazing cast of characters, and share us with your friends. Please come visit us, right here in West Yellowstone, relax and watch the animals, or participate in one of our interactive programs and displays. Until then we wish you all the best. We hope we can bring a little discovery and excitement your way. See you soon!
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 | | Happy Birthday Selway! |
Around The Center
What's Happening at the GWDC
With warmer days and freezing nights, we are beginning to think it may truly be springtime. Well, except that it was 20 below yesterday. Never mind that. The days are longer, spring holidays are upon us, and we're seeing lots of students and school groups - sure signs that winter is over.
Curious about who this beautiful wolf is? Selway is the last living wolf from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center's Gallatin Pack. There were originally ten wolves in this pack. Selway and Katimik were transferred to Mission: Wolf in June 2003 due to social tensions amongst the females within the Gallatin Pack. Since then, all of the wolves have passed away except for Selway, who will be 18 years old next month! Mission: Wolf provides a home for rescued wolves and creates opportunities for growth through community service and personal interactions with animals. Like the GWDC, Mission: Wolf values education, sustainability, and improving relationships between people, animals, and the world around them. We would like to thank Mission: Wolf for taking such great care of this beautiful girl.
Container Testing has begun, and will be in full swing beginning April 1st, just a few days from now. We would love to show you around, and talk about the value of this research with you. It's an exciting opportunity for visitors, the bears, and the designers and engineers of a wide variety of containers. Join us April 3rd and April 10th for two full days of testing. Other dates and times will be announced soon.
The West Gate to the Park will not be opening to motorized traffic until April 26th, but as weather permits, skis and bicycles are the way to go until then. We are hoping to offer visitors to the areas plenty to see and do during Easter and Spring breaks, from now through the beginning of the summer season.
Remember if you have any questions, or just want to know more about any aspect of the Center, you can always give us a call at 406.646.7001, reply to this newsletter, or email
info@grizzlydiscoveryctr.com. We will try to keep you informed and up to date in as many ways as we can. Your involvement and interest in what we do keeps us doing it! Thanks again for tuning in.
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Bears, Wolves, and Birds
(Oh My!)
Animal Updates
Sometimes no news really is good news. This is a quiet time of year for the animals, and all is well. The bears are doing well sharing the outdoor habitat in their new groupings, the wolves have polished off the last of the large animal rib cages, and the birds are waiting (maybe WE are the ones waiting) for a true change of season so the outdoor aviary will reopen. Container testing in the bear habitat and the daily wolf enrichment schedule offer stimulation and enrichment for animals and visitors during this period. Every issue of our email newsletter will have updates on our animals, and we will still be sending quarterly newsletters through the mail. You should be seeing a new Howls & Growls any day! We know it's not the people who draw you to the GWDC, as magnetic as we are, so we'll keep you posted on the reason we're all here: the bears, wolves, and birds. Don't forget our bear dog Nakiska! Remember to check out our webcams when you're staring at your computer. It'll make you feel a little bit closer, and it's way more fun than work!
Check out our birds...
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Education
Knowledge Is a Powerful Tool
Our new Education staff member Caelen is up and running with the West Yellowstone After School Program and all sorts of curriculum planning. We plan to keep her plenty busy. We are also finishing up interviews for our summer seasonal position, and should have someone hired very soon. We know you will enjoy talking with our entire team of interpreters during your next visit! The Certified Interpretive Guide class in April has seven people signed up right now. If you're interested in attending, please contact Trent. You can give the Center a call at (406) 646-7001 or email education@grizzlydiscoveryctr.com. We would love to include you in this valuable training course. In other news, we have school tours starting to come in, and an outreach program scheduled in Livingston Montana coming up. If you're interested in visiting the GWDC with your family or with your students, or if you'd like to sponsor a Teaching Trunk or outreach program, let us know. One of the Center's naturalists can visit your school for special assemblies, programs or activities. As you know, some of our birds-of-prey can travel for such programs as can our large collection of wolf and bear artifacts. We will customize the program or the Teaching Trunk for your group and areas of special interest.
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Developments
New and Exciting Opportunities to Support the GWDC
We hope you've received your newest issue of Howls & Growls in the mail, and we especially hope you like it. If you haven't seen a copy of our printed newsletter and you'd like one, give the Center a call. Our mailing list includes adopters, members, and donors, and we'd love to add you to the club.
We're working on a new adoption brochure right now. It should be ready in time for the summer season, and it's a great way to meet all the animals. We would be happy to send one to you or a friend when they're done. Think of it as our yearbook. Printing up the names and faces of our bears, wolves, and birds-of-prey in one glossy publication makes it that much easier for you to pick your new best friend(s)!
We are also putting together our summer wish list now. Each department chooses a few items that make the work we do more meaningful, more effective, and of course it's all for the animals. When our list is compiled, we will unveil it in the summer newsletter, and hope something you see sparks your interest. It's a little like shopping for a birthday present - fun for everyone!
Whatever your reasons for giving, and whatever your role in supporting the animals here, we are thankful that you are involved with the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. Thanks again for all you do. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Keep reading about other ways to support the GWDC...
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Eye Candy
Photographs and Artwork from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
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. If you'd like to see your artwork here, send us an image! Paintings, sculptures, and mixed media are welcome too.
Our thanks to David Reeves, Amy Schabacker, Gretchen Heine, and MissionWolf.org for this week's photographs.
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We hope you enjoy this issue, learn a little something, and feel like you are here with us for just a few minutes. It's a pretty special place to be. Have a great couple of weeks, a Happy Passover or Easter if you're so inclined, and we'll look forward to seeing you soon. Thanks again for all you do.
Sincerely,
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 | | Tegan |
The GWDC Staff
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center |
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