Yellowstone National Park's Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

This past weekend my family visited the center for a brief trip. I have about 60 photos to share with you, some of them are blurry because my camera delights in sabotaging my efforts, and some of the animals didn't want their face in the picture ( ) but I got a few good ones. I will share these in groups over the next couple of days so stay tuned and revisit.
First off, I will share the exhibits inside the main building. All of the taxidermied animals were found in or around the park in various states of poaching scenarios, and instead of simply wasting the animals they decided to use them for education, so these animals are being useful.
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These skulls are various stages in a Grizzlys life. The first left is a teenager, then an adult female and male skull.
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This was 1,400 pound polar bear. Which is BIG.
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This skeleton is of a Grizzly.
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These are skulls of a teenage, adult female, and adult male black bear.
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These are full body skeletons of black bears.
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This statue was in the wolf building.
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Then back to the main building.
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I will post the Grizzlies tomorrow. :) Enjoy!

Great pictures
Looks beautiful this place, Thanks for showing

Nice pics

awesome photo's! It must have been a very nice trip. The wolf statue reminds me of Narnia... And those bear cubs are just adorable it's just a shame that, when they are displayed in the main building, it means that they died so quickly in the wild... but of course it is good that they can be used for education instead of wasting them

Very nice pics, it must be a very interesting place

Thank you everyone for posting.
A-J I agree, it is sad that some of those cubs, especially the really small black bear cubs, are there at all. But as I said formerly, all of the creatures on display were either victims of poaching or I would assume in some sort of other accidents like wildfires. I would be easy for a man to just walk up and grab cubs this small, or for a fire to sneak up on them, especially since Yellowstone has had some bad fires in the past. On a cheery note though, everyone we passed in the buildings, especially the kids, were learning lots of new things, so they are being very useful, even after death. :)

Ok, this first bear is Illie, a very large Alaskan grizzly. She has a brother named Sam, but he apparently has a hard time with the visitors because he is shy, so he didn't end up coming out of the holding pen. Illie is a very big bear. Here is what the center has to say about them on their website, "Sam and illie, twin brother and sister were placed in captivity as young cubs after their mother disappeared in Alaska. These two bears wandered in to a fishing village where people (young and old) began hand-feeding them, becoming quite the attraction and a dangerous situation. Without a mother to care for them and becoming habituated to human food, these bears had to be placed in captivity and arrived at the Center in 1996. Being from the coastline of Alaska, these two bears are very large, with Sam weighing approximately 1050 pounds and his sister illie close to 800 pounds. Sam was named after the fishing village of King Salmon and illie after Mount iliamna, both areas are near their birthplace." The reason she has her head down a lot is because they set out food for her find.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Next we have Kobuk and Nakina. Again from their website, "Kobuk and Nakina are brother and sister who were actually from a litter of triplets. Their mother and brother were shot and killed by a resident near the community of Delta Junction, Alaska. They came to live at the GWDC in 1998. Kobuk displays confidence when interacting with his sister. Nakina will entertain herself searching out hides, fish and bones. Being from the interior part of Alaska, Kobuk and Nakina is about the same size as Yellowstone bears with weights between 450 and 600 pounds. Kobuk and Nakina were named by a West Yellowstone and Delta Junction elementary student who picked these names after the rivers near the bear's birthplace." These two are both kinda shaggy bears, and they did not want to hold still long enough for a good photo, and kept hiding their faces from me.
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Lastly, we have Roosevelt, Grant, and Corum. "On September 30th, 2011, the Discovery Center received two new bears Grant and Roosevelt. Tragically, their mother was euthanized after Yellowstone Park biologists confirmed that she was connected to two fatalities this summer. Fortunately, we were able to offer a home to her cubs. Grant, the smaller cub, is "a real firecracker," according to our animal keepers. He likes to climb and is very outgoing. Roosevelt is about 10 pounds heavier than his brother and is shy and reserved. They have been introduced to other bears, including Coram and 101. They enjoy playing out in the habitat tremendously." is what the website has to say about Grant and Roosevelt, now Corum, "On September 6th 2011, the Center welcomed a new resident bear. Named after the Montana town where he was trapped, Coram is a three-year-old grizzly who unfortunately became habituated to human foods and garbage. 2010-2011 were tough years for bears and people. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 1, Coram began boldly walking through town and finding non-natural foods from residential areas. He didn’t forget that easy food source. Once he and his family left the den this spring, he headed right into town again. He was trapped and moved for the second time in May. Wildlife managers received word that a bear had obtained bread out of someone’s pick-up truck in August and feared it might be the same bear. More reports came in about a bear walking up onto people’s porches and getting into dog food. When it turned out that the three year old bear had been trapped in town a third time, wildlife managers had to face the fact that this bear was not going to learn. He would have to be removed from the wild. After discussions with GWDC Management, the State of Montana and US Fish & Wildlife Service decided to place Coram at the Center. Coram has adapted extremely well to being at the Center. Early in February, he was introduced to Spirit. They got along nicely so, Sow 101 has been introduced to the mix. The three bears seem to enjoy being together in the habitat. Coram, 101 and Spirit are a good combination because they are currently about the same size and have experience as wild bears.All three are between 350 and 450 pounds. Coram will probably end up about twice the size of the two females as he gets older. He has also been interacting with sibling bears Grant and Roosevelt. The three young bears are extremely active and play non-stop."
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I know none of these pics have all three of them in it, but these two are Roosevelt and Corum, Grant was busy eating food to play until later. I have video footage of these bears, and if I can figure it out, I will try to upload it too.

Cool!!! When I went to Yellowstone, my family visited there, while dad went to the mechanic to get the car fixed. I remember hearing that story about Sam and his sister.
It is a really cool place, seeing wolves and grizzlies up close. :)

Thanks CC. I loved seeing the wolves up close. When we first got there, the bears were playing (the pics) and it is humbling to see big bears up close. I never realized just how big these brutes can get! The wolves were awesome! They kept making passes up and down the windows, and although there were a lot of photographers there and it was a little crowded, it was totally worth it.

Ok, the birds of prey now. They haven't updated their site in a while, So I don't have any backstories on these guys other than little bits and pieces.
This pair of Bald Eagles were pretty neat. The one female had gotten in an accident and they had to amputate her wing.
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Her mate.
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The owl, Tegan, was very sleepy while we were there.
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This bald eagle is an older female, and either had had a brush with poison, or had gotten a head injury, so now she has some neurological problems.
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Then she started to stare at something above us.
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Lastly, a gorgeous pair of my favorite eagle, Golden eagles.
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What a lot of great photoes from a very interesting place

Thankyou very much for sharing this great day with us

Thanks Susanne. :) Tomorrow I will upload my last pics of their two wolf packs.

Wow I only have think that they have an museeum but also an "zoo" fantasic pictures :)
Thanks for sharing

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thanks CC. I loved seeing the wolves up close. When we first got there, the bears were playing (the pics) and it is humbling to see big bears up close. I never realized just how big these brutes can get! The wolves were awesome! They kept making passes up and down the windows, and although there were a lot of photographers there and it was a little crowded, it was totally worth it.

I was really surprised when I saw how easily they threw around those HUGE logs! It was like me throwing a pillow!

Yeah, one of the bigger bears was chewing on some kind of treat inside a log about as big around as a barrel, and threw it into the water. It was really amazing seeing it first hand.

Ok, the first pack, the river valley pack. The entire pack were posers, which my camera loved. They kept standing up on the ridge, or the rock or walking past the window.
From the website, "Wolves Akela, Kootenai and Summit were moved into the new River Valley Wolf Habitat and immediately made themselves at home. This pack of young wolves can be observed playing unabated games of chase throughout their new home, as well as interacting with the Center’s older wolf pack through the windows of the Naturalist Cabin by howling back and forth. The River Valley Wolf pack, one female and two males, arrived as pups to the Center. They were born in a captive born facility. After the GWDC received the pups, they were kept off-display while their new habitat was being constructed. Akela – was named after the leader of the wolf pack in the story “Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. She has a beautiful ash colored coat with gorgeous amber eyes. Akela is a bold and tenacious wolf and is already the leader of her pack. Kootenai – was named after the Kootenai National Forest in Montana and a Native American Tribe in Idaho. He is now the Alpha Male of the pack and a very playful personality. Kootenai has a very broad head, long nose and a fluffy grey coat. Summit – was the smallest of the new pups to arrive at the Center. He was named Summit after the top of a mountain. Summit is playful as well and can be seen running around the habitat many times during the day. He is a striking wolf with an unusual fold on his right ear." And although I didn't get a good pic of all three together, but Akela has gone much more white, and it is very very very hard to tell any of these guys apart.
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I will share the High country pack either later today or tomorrow.

yay the wolves :) They are so beatifull, I love the photos as well

So beautiful wolves and they are also white I never have saw a white wolve live
The pictures are also very nice

nice wolves

Thank you everyone! Later today I will post the High country pack, and then that is the last of my pics.

Oh wow. I feel awful, I never uploaded the High country pack. Ok, here they come.
"In 2006, 15-day-old brothers McKinley and Leopold arrived at the Center forming the nucleus of the growing High Country Wolf Pack. McKinley and Leopold moved into their display habitat on April 15, 2009. McKinley, the larger of the two, was named after Mount McKinley in Alaska. He is very black in color, has a long narrow face and continues to tower over every other wolf at the Center weighing close to 120 pounds. Leopold is named after conservationist Aldo Leopold who was one of the first people to suggest that wolves should be reintroduced to Yellowstone. Leopold has always been a little smaller than his brother McKinley, but can show a more aggressive side at times. Leopold has a broad face and is very dark in color with unique brown markings. In the summer of 2009, a young pair of wolves was introduced to McKinley and Leopold. Born on May 2, 2009, Adara and Takoda arrived at the Center when they were four-weeks old and have now joined the High Country Wolf pack. The pack of four can be observed interacting as they developed a strong social bond. Adara was named for one of the brightest stars in the sky and because she is the only female, will become the Alpha Female of this pack. She is light in color and is the smallest wolf inthe pack. Takoda was named after the Sioux meaning “friend to everyone”. Takoda has boundless energy and explores his new surroundings throughout the day. He has a darker coat then his sister with a healthy appetite. All four wolves have adjusted well and can be heard howling with the other resident wolves. Visitors have been delighted to learn about and appreciate different aspects of wolf behavior by observing this pack through the windows of the Naturalist Cabin." that is what the website has to say about them.

So beautiful animals and so great pictures, thanks for sharing