October 2, 2021

MONTANA GRIZZLY ENCOUNTER

80 W Bozeman Hill Rd, Bozeman, MT 59715

“Mountain sanctuary for rescued grizzly bears, with up-close encounters & educational programs.”

Driving into this sanctuary for grizzly bears I really wondered what kind of place I was entering. The gravel drive leading to a narrow gate with what looked like an old shack for a ticket office just wasn’t very impressive. The parking lot, which was pretty full, was narrow and I wasn’t sure I could find a spot for my truck. But, after I walked through the gift shop entrance and made it down to the exhibit area all of my doubts went away.

In front of me was Bella, a 700-pound, 7-year-old, grizzly. Bella was more active than any bear I have ever seen in a zoo. It was fascinating to watch her climb the rock and look out over the vast area on the other side of the fence, then saunter down to the pond to play with a pine cone she picked up on the way. For a good 30 minutes I stood watching Bella’s antics while listening to an attendant talk about Bella, grizzlies in general, and the operation of the Grizzly Encounter.

There are currently four grizzlies calling the rescue sanctuary home (there is room for one more). At this time only one bear is allowed out in the exhibit area at a time because bears are not really social creatures and at this time the bears are not really getting along with one another, or so the attendant told us.

When I paid the admission fee on Saturday I was told the admission allowed me to return on a second day. I chose to take advantage of that on Sunday. When I arrived Max, an almost 3-year-old grizzly was in the exhibit area. Max is smaller than Bella, but I didn’t catch the weight. Soon after I arrived Max started going to the entrance to the bear’s cave (a steel door), this indicated Max had had enough outdoor time and soon the staff obliged and Max went inside. Then a staff person entered the exhibit area putting peanut butter on rocks, ceasar salad dressing on logs, and spreading what looked like fruits and berries around in different places for the next bear to enter the exhibit area. Soon Bella, the same bear I saw yesterday emerged and went right to work looking for her snacks. It was interesting to watch her scour the exhibit area for her food. She did spend some time in the pool again, but wasn’t as active as yesterday.

I am really glad I experienced the Montana Grizzly Encounter.