Grizzly Discovery Center, Yellowstone National Park

The Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, gives visitors a chance to watch the behavior and interactions of wolves and grizzly bears in separate habitats. Photographers will delight in the fact that the animals can be captured from the viewing areas, and with a little luck and perseverance, the animals can be taken without the artificial constructions for your backdrop.

The Center supported eight grizzly bears in the year 2000: two Canadians from Revelstoke, BC, five from coastal Alaska and one Kodiak brown bear. The markings between the Alaskans and Canadians are distinct but the two are classified as a single species.

Along with the bears were the wolves, over a dozen of which live in the habitat.

Spend some time over both habitats. Watch and learn as much as you can from the animals' behavior. It will not only fascinate you during your visit, but will help to foster the spiritual necessity to preserve the wild places in America, and it just might help you interpret signs and behavior when out on the trail.

The Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, gives visitors a chance to watch the behavior and interactions of wolves and grizzly bears in separate habitats. Photographers will delight in the fact that the animals can be captured from the viewing areas, and with a little luck and perseverance, the animals can be taken without the artificial constructions for your backdrop.

The Center supported eight grizzly bears in the year 2000: two Canadians from Revelstoke, BC, five from coastal Alaska and one Kodiak brown bear. The markings between the Alaskans and Canadians are distinct but the two are classified as a single species.

Along with the bears were the wolves, over a dozen of which live in the habitat.

Spend some time over both habitats. Watch and learn as much as you can from the animals' behavior. It will not only fascinate you during your visit, but will help to foster the spiritual necessity to preserve the wild places in America, and it just might help you interpret signs and behavior when out on the trail.

Although Yellowstone has so much to offer, there are some things worth travelling outside the park for, and this is definitely one of them. Located in the town of West Yellowstone in Montana, the center is an educational facility designed to introduce visitors to these wonderful animals and give them an opportunity to learn about, view and ultimately appreciate the grizzly bear and grey wolf. The bears at the center have all had to be removed from the wild because they were becoming dangerously comfortable around humans.

When you arrive at the center you're given an info sheet which tells you which bears will be out in the main enclosure that day (they take it in turns to be on view to the public). We saw three - the brothers Revel and Stoke (from Revelstoke in British Columbia - der!) and a lively female called Spirit. There were also four wolves in the separate enclosure opposite the bears.

In addition to the animals there's a small museum, attractively laid out, and a good gift shop, as well as displays about the dangers of human interaction with bears and examples of so-called "bear-proof" equipment. But the animals themselves are very much the star attraction, of course!

Admission to the center costs $9.75 for adults, which is good for 2 consecutive days. The center is just one block from the West Entrance to Yellowstone Park

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In the event to don't get to see a grizzly in the wild, or if you would like to see one nice and close up without worrying for your safety, take a drive over to West Yellowstone to check out the Grizzly Discovery Center.
When you arrive they will give you a schedual, so that you know which bears are out and about. Each of the bears has a little bio on it, giving his/her name, a little history about where the bear came from, and what his/her personality is like.
Across the way a small pack of wolves is kept. there are 4 of them. When we visited they were all napping in the shade of a tree.
The bears that are here have been rescued. Many were cubs that were abandoned, or their mother was killed. They cannot survive on their own and once being in captivity, they cannot be released into the wild. The center takes care of these animals. It is a non for profit oraganization. Your entrance fee helps take care of the animals.

201 S. Canyon
West Yellowstone, MT 59758