13 May 5 Reasons to Visit the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is located in West Yellowstone, Montana and is perched right at the gate of Yellowstone National Park. More educational animal sanctuary than zoo, it’s a must see in the touristy town!
I am not a fan of zoos. In fact, you will never see a zoo recommended anywhere on this blog. I believe that animals should be wild and free, not kept in cages or exhibits.
This is where the animals at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center diverge from the animals at zoos. All the animals that live here are not capable of surviving in the wild for various reasons including human encroachment and interaction. The Center saves these animals from being euthanized or dying in the wild and educates visitors on how to co-exist with them safely.
Here are the 5 reasons the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is one of the best things to do in West Yellowstone, Montana.
Table of Contents
It's a Not-For-Profit, Educational Animal Sanctuary
All the animals that reside at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center are unable to live in the wild for a variety of reasons. Some were abandoned as babies and weren’t able to develop the skills needed to survive. Others were fed — or in other ways — became dependent on humans and subsequently lost their fear of us.
Instead of hunting through forests and eating a diet that is natural to them, these “nuisance” bears choose to roam neighborhood streets to eat easy pickins’ from garbage cans and dumpsters (the fast food of the animal world!). Many times, these bears wind up killed by animal control or by people protecting their land and animals.
Hunting and car accidents are two other reasons animals wind up at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center.
One of the birds of prey at the exhibit (Nahani, a rough-legged hawk) only has one working wing because of an incident with an 18 wheeler. Jordan, a beautiful bald eagle, scavenged an animal that had been shot, ingested the bullets, and suffered lead poisoning.
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Kids Can (Safely)
Feed the Bears
One of the best things happening at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is their Keeper Kids program. Kids age 5-12 are allowed to enter the bears’ large outdoor habitat (obviously when the bears are not there) and hide tasty food and treats for them.
With the food hidden and the children safely back on the other side of the enclosure, the grizzles are released to find their fun and tasty treats!
I talked with Tut Fuentevilla, a naturalist at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center who said, “The Keeper Kid program is designed to allow kids to participate in the ‘enrichment’ process for the bears. This creates a changing environment the bears will want to explore and interact with in the way we would expect from bears in the wild.”
Kids who participate in the program learn about the behavior and diet of wild bears, safety in bear country, and the needs of the bears that live at the Center.
This is something that is fun for all ages! While I can’t hide food for the bears, I love watching them search for their treats! You really get a sense of their smelling ability and their strength as they casually and effortlessly toss aside giant granite boulders.
Participation in the Keeper Kid program is an additional $5, and kids earn a Keeper Kid pin featuring a photo of one of the animals that lives at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center.
Note: Keeper Kids was closed during COVID-19 but they are hoping to get it back up and running by Memorial Day weekend.
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Bear & Wolf Sightings
Are Guaranteed
You could drive around Yellowstone National Park for days — even weeks! — or you could head to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center and see them within minutes of your arrival!
While there is nothing like seeing an animal in the wild, this is a guaranteed hit for everyone in your group!
Their New Exhibit is
"Otter" This World
Imagine strolling through Yellowstone’s riparian habitat next to quiet ponds, bubbling streams and swift-moving waterfalls.
At the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center’s Banks of the Yellowstone River riparian exhibit you’ll see all of this, in an inside space — perfect year round! The Center has five North American River Otters: Aspen, Willow, Cliff, Wade, Clark, and Moe.
While you’re at this exhibit, you’ll also see other native species that the river otters would normally live around including Yellowstone cutthroat trout and Arctic grayling.
Plus….otters’ faces are so stinkin’ cute!
The Bears Have a
Cool Side Hustle
To further their mission of educating the public on bear safety, the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center works with state and federal agencies in the testing of bear-resistant food and garbage storage containers.
When bears learn that people equal food, they can become dangerous and may ultimately be killed or placed in captivity.
Keeping them away from “fast food” is the best way to ensure their survival in the wild because “a fed bear is a dead bear.”
The Testing Procedure
Manufacturers bring their potential bear-resistant products to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. The products are then baited with deliciously enticing bear treats and placed into the bears’ habitat.
The clock starts, and the bears have 60 minutes to “test” the product. If they are unable to open the container, the container passes as “bear-resistant” and receives certification from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC).
Have you been to West Yellowstone, Montana? Does the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center sound like somewhere you’d like to visit?
Frequently Asked Questions
Children 12 and under are $10 and anyone over 13 is $15. Tickets are good for two consecutive days.
The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is a small but mighty facility! You’ll want to budget around two – three hours to explore the museum and to watch the grizzly bears, river otters, bears, and birds of prey.
Visitors to West Yellowstone will find plenty of restaurants, bars, shops, museums, and theater performances in town.
The town is small and walkable. Outdoor lovers will appreciate West Yellowstone for its year-round activities like hiking, mountain biking, river rafting, and fly fishing in the summer. Winter activities include snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
This is all not to mention that the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park is right here as well.
You should absolutely consider staying in West Yellowstone! I find that the accommodations are “reasonably” priced compared to other Yellowstone National Park entrances. And there is a lot of fun stuff to do — and good food — in this quaint town.
I prefer the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park for several reasons. One is the town of West Yellowstone. But the west entrance puts you in the Yellowstone’s geyser country!
The west entrance is also Yellowstone’s busiest, so — as you can imagine — it’s easy to find shopping, dining, and entertainment here.
If you’re coming from Idaho or western Montana (like Missoula or Bozeman) the west entrance is the most convenient entrance.
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