As we mentioned above, the Center's aviaries have some new residents! Lewis the turkey vulture came to us from Southern Utah. Lewis has a wing injury and will never be able to fly.  Whether he is perched up on top of a dead tree in his aviary, or strutting around his habitat with purpose, Lewis has been enchanting visitors and raising awareness for these amazing birds since his arrival. 

Also new to the aviaries is Keek, a rough-legged hawk from the Helena, Montana area. Keek also has a wing injury that prevents her release into the wild. As the weather turns colder here in West Yellowstone, Keek does not seem to mind. Rough-legged hawks spend their summers up on the Arctic tundra and their winters in many northern states, including Montana, so Keek is well-adapted to handle the snow that will inevitably fly!

The bears are getting ready for the winter too. Even though the bears at the Center do not hibernate, they still go through a period of hyperphagia. During hyperphagia our bears want to eat, eat, and eat! A wild bear might eat up to 20,000 calories per day when it is storing fat for hibernation. The bears at the Center don't eat that much, but when we see Spirit walking the habitat in a grid pattern to make sure she hasn't missed any morsels of food we know hyperphagia has started!

The wolves have been howling up a storm as we move into the fall season. It seems like we hear them communicating in this way every morning and most evenings. Wild wolves howl for social bonding, to communicate with pack members that have been separated, to defend their territory, and to rally before the hunt, among other things. So why are the wolves at the GWDC howling? We don't always know, but it's fun to guess!

Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted on the reason we're all here - the animals! 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 follow our progress keep an eye on the animals, and please come visit us soon.

The naturalist staff has been busy this summer and we've recently said goodbye to two fantastic educators, Emily and Madeline. We wish them the best in all their future endeavors.

Our new iPad activities have been popular with our visitors this summer. Technology allows you to learn about bears from all over the world, test your skills with black bear and grizzly bear identification, and see if you know what to do to avoid a bear encounter when hiking in Yellowstone. More updates to our museum exhibits are coming this winter, so be sure to stop by and see what's new!

Two new programs, "Mythological Creatures of Montana" and "Let's Play" are educating our visitors this fall. "Mythological Creatures" touches on potential scientific reasoning behind mysterious animal sightings, while "Let's Play" is all about how animals use play behavior to communicate. Exploring the mysteries of nature and of animal behavior is fascinating and we love having the opportunity to share it with you!

As our summer season winds down, the education staff starts to look forward to school programs and planning for the future. Speaking of the future, the Center's naturalists and raptors will be attending the 2014 Bridger Raptor Festival in Bozeman, MT October 4th and 5th. Be sure to come and see us there for one of our live raptor talks. It is one of our favorite events of the year. 

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, and adding programs to our roster. We will customize the program or the Teaching Trunk for your group and areas of special interest.