Lewis the turkey vulture wishes you a happy World Migratory Bird Day. Turkey vultures are a migratory species that call the Yellowstone region home from spring to summer but migrate south for the winter! Image: 10-yr-old male turkey vulture Lewis perched and spreading his wings. The theme for Migratory Bird Day this is "Water: Sustaining Bird Life." Healthy water systems are important rest stops, feeding stations, nesting grounds, & more for migratory birds.

Today the Fossil Butte siblings turn 3-yrs-old! A happy belated birthday to their mom, Sura, who turned 13 on Apr 26th. They have received “birthday cakes" made out of ice and various meats. Look in the replies for pictures! Image 1: 13-yr-old female gray wolf Sura lays on a ledge in the top left while (from left to right) 3-yr-old siblings Boulder (male), Colter (male), Meriwether (female), and Harlequin (female) play.

We are excited to announce our World Otter Day raffle! See details below or visit our website for more information.
This is a limited print of “Captivated" (pictured painting) by Lindsey Foggett, an acrylic painting of river otters. Self-taught, Lindsey paints primarily with acrylic and gouache, and has painted full time since 1982. She works in a natural, detailed style, striving to portray not only realism, but also to capture the mood and personality of the animals.

🎉Happy birthday to the bears!
The 7 bears that live at the Center were all born in the wild so we don’t know their exact birthday, but know most wild grizzly bears are born around this time.
Image 1: Sam, male, is 27
Image 2: Spirit, female, is 27
Image 3: Nakina, female, is 25 Image 4: Coram, male, is 15
Image 5: Bo, male, is 7
Image 6: twin sisters Seeley (right) and Condi (left) are 4

The GWDC Animal Keepers are hard at work this summer! We believe enrichment is a vital part of an animal’s life in captivity. The enrichment process changes the habitat and surroundings of the animals to keep them alert, interested, and active. It usually involves food and scent being added, or changes to the vegetation, water features, or even soil and mulch that make up the landscape of the habitat. The keepers at the Center perform daily enrichments for all of the animals that call the Center home.

Suns out, scalps out! Lewis is enjoying his outdoor habitat! During winters, wild turkey vultures migrate to warmer climates, and Lewis prefers to stay inside his heated mew.

Image Description: Turkey vulture Lewis pokes head and front of body out from behind a tree trunk. Now that the weather is warmer and the sun is shining in Yellowstone, wild turkey vultures have migrated back to the area and Lewis has been out soaking up some rays. This is also your reminder to apply sunscreen and hydrate!

We are excited to announce that after months of construction, our new bear viewing deck is open to visitors! The new platform raises visitors above the bear habitat and offers spectacular views including into the pond. Come check it out to see the bears forage, play, and swim from a new perspective!

The project began last fall with the removal of the aging wooden viewing deck and preparation of the site.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have had the pleasure of observing the introduction of grizzly bears Coram, Grant and Bo. The trio seem to enjoy their daily time together, especially in the pool. Enjoy the images from their first meeting.

Flathead Fruit Gleaning helps citizens put unwanted fruit to a good use: feeding the bears here! Donated fruit is brought here to the GWDC!

Starting Mon Sep 20 drop off fruit donations at the Fish, Wildlife & Parks regional office in Kalispell from 9am-5pm through Friday the 24! For Bigfork/Ferndale pickers you can drop off fruit at Wayfarers State Park starting Monday to Friday from 9am-3pm. Go to the first parking lot on the left before the pay booth and follow signs to the secured drop-off location.

Flathead Fruit Gleaning, a project of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, helps homeowners dispose of unwanted fruit that could potentially lead to bear-human conflicts. The bears here at our facility have been fortunate to get to enjoy these donated fruits over the last few years. If you know somebody in the Kalispell region with fruit trees, send them the information from below. Together we can help protect wild bears and protect people.

Beginning in late summer and continuing throughout the fall, bears experience hyperphagia. Hyperphagia is an increase in feeding activity driven by a biological need to fatten up before bears go in to den for the winter.

Spirit is pictured. GWDC bears’ appetites increase & we adjust diests accordingly, but they do not hibernate because they have access to food year-round.
Wild bears may spend as much as twenty hours a day searching for and eating food.

It's that time of year again - the bears are now one year older! Although we don't know the exact day on which every bear was born, grizzly bears typically give birth in late January or early February, so right about now! Sam (25), Spirit (25) Nakina (23), Coram (13)

We get asked if grizzly & brown bears are the same type of bear. All grizzly bears are brown bears, but not all brown bears are grizzlies. To explain further, the brown bear classification has three specific subspecies of bear within it; grizzly, Kodiak, and Eurasian brown bears. Grizzly bears are brown bears that live on the mainland of North America. Kodiak bears are brown bears found only on the series of islands surrounding Kodiak Island in Alaska and are generally the largest out of the three.

Many of you know that the bears here help us test bear resistant containers, a side job that’s a big hit with both visitors and bears. You may not know that we keep track of every success and failure for each year. During 2020, the bears tested a total of 43 containers. This was broken down into coolers (16), plastic garbage carts or curbside bins (13), backpack canisters (8), panniers or saddle packs (3), dumpsters (2), and food storage lockers (1). We saw a 30% pass rate this year.

@outsidemagazine Backpacking canister testing today. We will see if it passes or fails. Coram is the bear pictured. @outsidemagazine And the container did pass the 60 minute test.

Bear resistant container testing here at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center.

https://twitter.com/KodiakProducts/status/1317840739116609537

Backpacking container testing today. We will see if it passes or fails. Coram is the bear pictured.

Beginning Wednesday, May 20th the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center will reopen to the public. We are excited to see everyone, but we do ask that all visitors take precautions before arrival and during your visit to help us minimize the risk of community spread of Covid-19. If you are feeling sick, please stay home. When visiting the GWDC we will encourage the use of face masks, and require social distancing between groups for the safety of other visitors, our staff and volunteers, and the animals.

Today is a milestone day because the three wolves, Bridger, Obsidian, & Shasta, that we have rightly called "pups" are now "yearlings". They turn a year old today! Wolves are born in April and May, so we use this time of the year to update the age of the wolves that are at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. Sura is now 10 years old. Lakota is 14.