It's About the (RV) Journey....: Grizzly and Wolf Discovery.....

On our last day in Idaho, the weather was a bit threatening, so instead of hiking (or knitting outside-hahah) we decided to go into West Yellowstone to visit the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, a non-profit educational facility. For more information, click here. None of the animals there are able to survive in the wild, for various reasons, such as accidents, nuisance or orphans that never were able to learn to live in the wild. We attended some of the programs, like the "Birds of Prey"...since we are so interested in birds suddenly. We learned a bit more about owls, falcons and eagles. We also saw the tiniest owl and the tiniest falcon we've ever seen. Really small. The falcon looked like a Robin. And, of course we attended a program on "Living with Bears"-haha. (Actually we've had more bear encounters in NJ than here in Yellowstone!)

red bar on right-death by heart attacks, blue bar-death by car accidents, Tom pointing to death by bears

We saw a great documentary on wolves...some of these "visitor centers" or educational facilities like this one have the best movies! This was more than a zoo...it was quite educational. A good place to educate folks too....BEFORE heading into the park to actually possibly spot one of these beautiful creatures. (This is located right outside the park!)

High Country wolf pack

lounging in the shade

sleepy

Lunch?....an elk...picked the carcass clean!

the ravens were very vocal!

coyotes are much smaller than wolves

small falcon-part of the program on birds of prey

The Discovery Center was quite interesting. Besides having samples of paws, skeletons and taxidermy bears and cubs, there was plenty of information on their behavior and "lifestyle". Did you know that scientists are studying bears for information that can help humans with obesity, bone density and sleep disorders, among other things?

The animals are not treated as though they are in a zoo. I noticed bones of an elk in each of the wolf enclosures. Not the usual fare given to zoo animals. The grizzly bears are let out into the viewing area a few at a time, though I'm not sure whether siblings are together or what? Before each group is let out, the staff puts fruit, etc, under rocks and in the water so the bears have to work for their meals and their brains stay sharp. Its amazing to watch, actually! And, of course, because they are behind the fence, they really are adorable and fun to watch!

this one looked right at me

playing with his feet

silly bear

there were triplets out at the same time-these two are playing

sibling fun

hey, where's our brother going?

all three watching the raven eat something

they let this big guy out alone..no other bears with him

i just gotta get rid of this winter coat already...

sitting around....checking things out

these two immediately began searching for food once they were let out into the arena

moving rocks to find dinner

they were each concentrating on getting their food...with the ravens watching nearby

As usual, you go through the gift shop to get out of the Discovery Center! Lots of bear and wolf merchandise to be had, all of it cute.

gift shop chair...nice!

careful now

we are not adding to our collection

oh my...

We enjoyed a good part of the day in West Yellowstone, then headed back when the weather looked threatening. Seemed like we skirted the bad weather. It had stormed in Island Park, but by the time we got back there, it was beautiful!

good time to head home

clearing skies over our "home"

Our time has ended in the beautiful Red Rock RV Campground in Island Park, Idaho. We really enjoyed the peace and natural surroundings in this campground. As I said before in an earlier post, what a backyard!!