Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
December 18, 2013
DISCOVERY
News from The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
In This Issue
Around the Center
Bears, Wolves, and Birds
Education
Developments
Eye Candy
Quick Links

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, and 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!
Christmas for the Critters
Critters
Around The Center
What's Happening at the GWDC

Happy December to you! Hard to believe we're right in the thick of things with Thanksgiving and Hanukkah behind us, Christmas and New Year's Eve straight ahead, and plenty of snow everywhere. St. George, Utah has snow right now!, as do lots of other places that don't usually boast a white Christmas. We hope you can spend some time this season with loved ones, and we hope the coming days and months are peaceful and beautiful wherever you are. And WHEREVER you are, we are counting on seeing you next year.  

Christmas for the Critters has been extended this year. We usually start offering discounted admission in exchange for treats for the animals around the middle of the month, but this year we're running this special all the way through December. 
Thanks for sharing this holiday season with the animals at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. Stop by and bring something from the list above for a discount on admissions!
 
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! We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Thanks again for tuning in.

Sam
Sam
Bears, Wolves, and Birds
(Oh My!)
Animal Updates
 
The new Granite Pack is doing splendidly together. OK, maybe you're not used to seeing a word like "splendidly" attached to Leopold and/or Summit, but they have adjusted well to each other, they seem to have formed a cohesive pack as adult wolves, and soon they will be participating in a cooperative feeding study. University students from Bozeman are building a feeding apparatus that requires more than one wolf to pull a release in order to allow food to drop. We are delaying the move of the Granite Pack to the newly-renovated enclosure next to the High Country pack so the students can install the apparatus and study the wolves' behavior for a short time.

In case we haven't updated you recently about the Bear Kitchen, it is complete! The animal keepers love its warmth, light, and distance from the bears whose diet they are preparing, and the facilities staff love the vehicle bay and storage space. And we ALL love how you made it happen. We'll be able to host students, volunteers, and all sorts of good work in this new space. It's already a busy place. Thank you.

Birds are all inside now. Come next spring you'll see them back in the aviaries, but the program birds are still involved in Outreach and training. Never a dull moment.

 

Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted on the reason we're all here - the animals! Remember to check out our webcams when you're wondering what's going on around at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center or wanting to stay connected until your next visit. Every issue of our email newsletter will have updates on the animals, and we will still be sending quarterly newsletters through the mail. We hope you'll stay tuned and please come visit us soon.

 Check out our bears... 

Brenda Boyer
McKinley
Education
Knowledge Is a Powerful Tool
 

The Education department is again hosting National Park Ranger Talks, which will debut December 21st and run through March 9th of next year. Join a Yellowstone Park Ranger for a fascinating series highlighting the natural, cultural and scenic wonders of Yellowstone Park. Weekly programs will be held Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 here at the Center. The program is free but there is a fee if you choose to visit the rest of the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. (Remember to bring your Christmas for the Critters contribution for a discount!)


Education is also busy working on next summer's programs. We have some fascinating information about how scientists are using hibernation in grizzly bears to study and treat common human ailments. You can read about this in the upcoming Howls & Growls (March) and come see the program this summer! We also anticipate opening the Living with Bears Trail as weather and completion of the components allows, and can't wait to unveil our new name, signs, and interpretation of this exhibit! 
 
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 are currently adding materials to our Teaching Trunks (Thanks Kelly!), and adding programs to our roster. We will customize the program or the Teaching Trunk for your group and areas of special interest.

 

Benefit Wines.com
Benefit Wines for the New Year!
Developments
New and Exciting Opportunities to Support the GWDC
 
We've told you already about Benefit Wines, and we've shown you our great-looking Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center labels. We have tasted and purchased and given as gifts, and now, with Christmas and New Year's sneaking up fast, we wanted to remind you that you can still order and get your GWDC Wines by Christmas, and certainly by New Year's Eve! Whether you fancy a pinot or a cab, or you're more of a white wine aficionado, you are sure to find a wine to please everyone on your shopping list! Raise a glass with family and friends this holiday season! Cheers to all the good you can do when you buy Benefit Wines. Order today, and they'll get it to you by Christmas! 
 
If you have had a chance to read your newest Howls & Growls with all the holiday celebrations going on, you already know we're gearing up to host our first-ever online auction next summer. To celebrate our 15th Anniversary as a nonprofit organization, we are excited to announce this special event in August 2014. We invite you to join in the adventure now by donating gifts of all shapes and sizes. From timeshares and travel destinations to services and consultations, from artwork and handiwork to health and wellness items, gift certificates, gourmet food items, and anything else you think would be a hit, all gifts are tax-deductible for their fair-market value. The time to donate for a 2013 tax deduction is getting short! Donate now and see your contribution go to the highest bidder next summer! Get in on the excitement now. Reply to this email or give us a call if you want to donate to the auction! Don't forget other year-end gifts at this time also.
 
Your support makes a world of difference to the animals here at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. We hope to hear from you and see you soon.

 

Keep reading about other ways to support the GWDC... 

Akela Curtis L
Akela
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 Curtis L, Brenda Boyer, and Len Tillim for this week's photographs.
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 and a wonderful Christmas, and we'll look forward to seeing you soon.

Thanks again for keeping up with us and for all you do.

Sincerely,
Raven Curtis L
The GWDC Staff
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
 
Gift Shop
Happenings

Celebrate the holidays with the most jam-packed, fun-filled, brimming-over Christmas stocking ever! Raffle tickets for the stocking are only $5 each, and the raffle will extend through the end of the year so you'll have a leg up on next year's shopping! Or, if you win the whole shebang, pass on the goodies to your loved ones throughout the new year. Buy your tickets today! Click here or call us at (406) 646-7001. Click the picture below or the Gift Shop link above to visit and shop. 

 

Thank you for supporting and shopping at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center! We'll see you soon!   
Christmas Stocking Raffle
Christmas Stocking Raffle 2013