In our last email newsletter we updated you on grizzly bear Spirit's cub Kootenai, who resides at the Denver Zoo. This time we would like to let you know about Bridger and Colter, Sow 101's cubs that arrived with her here at the Center in 2002. Today they live at the Bear Research Facility at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. There they are helping researchers learn about hibernation and how we can apply grizzly bears' amazing adaptive metabolic functions to human medicine, as well as other important research topics. Look for more details on Bridger, Colter and Kootenai in our next issue of Howls & Growls, our quarterly newsletter! To add your name to the Howls & Growls mailing list, become a member or adopt one of the animals here at the Center.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to all of the bears at the Center! Bear 101 is now 33 years old, which, if you are wondering, is pretty old for a bear! She is doing great, foraging around the habitat, sometimes even playing with Roosevelt or Grant. And those 'cubs'?  Well, they are 4 years old now, still sub-adults, still very playful, and growing every day! Grant now weighs over 400 pounds and Roosevelt weighs over 500.

Summit

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.

You may not know that our Education Department has been participating in West Yellowstone's After School Program for many years! Once a week, one of our staff leads the afternoon activities for the children. It is just one way we like to give back to our community! We teach them something new AND have fun! Whether it is learning about the qualities of snow and making snow ice-cream or bringing one of our birds over for a raptor study, we take pride in contributing to their growth. Lately we've been leading the Wildlife Olympics! The kids tested their abilities and compared them to wild animals, with challenges like "A hummingbird flaps its wings over 50 times per second, or 1500 times every 30 seconds. How many wing flaps can you do in 30 seconds?"  And, "A snowshoe hare can leap 10 feet in a single bound. How far can you jump in one leap?" As you can see, the kids had a wonderful time!

Wildlife Olympics

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. If you're within driving distance of the Center, one of the 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.