Grizzlies, wolves enjoy Christmas treats

By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer

WEST YELLOWSTONE - For most grizzly bears, Christmas is a yawn. They've been asleep for weeks and they aren't dreaming about sugarplums.

KRISTA MILLER/FOR THE CHRONICLE Kobuk sniffs a bone filled with honey and peanut butter at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone on Wednesday. The center accepts donations of peanut butter, honey and trail mix to put in bones and logs for the bears. Putting the food in the logs and bones creates a natural atmosphere for feeding and treats. For the eight grizzlies at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center here, where nobody hibernates, Christmas passes much like any other day, maybe with a bit more laughter from the two-legged beings that feed them.

But that doesn't mean Christmas isn't important to them, even if the bears remain oblivious: Human generosity during this season helps make the rest of the year happy, active and enjoyable for the bruins.

And it's as simple as a dab of peanut butter, a smear of honey or a handful of trail mix.

“I call it peanut-butter marrow,” Libby Scott, the center's curator, said while displaying a box full of deer and elk bones packed with peanut butter, dried fruit and other treats.

In a few minutes, they'd been spread out in the snow and three giant grizzlies were turned loose to find them, stimulating their ursine instincts to forage, eat and eat some more.

Revel made the first score, glomming on to a chunk of PVC pipe with treats inside. Using his long tongue and dexterous claws, he scooped out the contents while companions Kobuk and Nakina sucked peanut butter from the nearby bones, just as they'd suck marrow from fresher bones in the wild.

Like all of the bears at the center, these three got into trouble - the most-common offense is stealing human food - and were destined for euthanasia before arriving here, where the food is free.

Revel, a stout 691 pounds, put on quite a show, using three and sometimes four paws to manipulate the slippery pipe. If the treats were simply left on the ground, Revel would find them, but he wouldn't have to challenge himself to do so.

“It's huge to keep our bears motivated and stimulated and happy,” said Scott, who's worked at the center for 10 years.

Once the treats had been devoured, Revel and 550-pound Kobuk sought other amusements, wrestling and roughhousing in the snow, chewing on each other's neck in a happy game that left the bears unharmed, but would have meant a hospital stay for a human.

“We're all about enrichment,” Scott said. “It keeps them mentally and physically happy. That's what we want to do. And people who care about animals can help us do that.”

That's where the Christmas gifts come in.

Eleven grizzlies and two wolf packs can put down a lot of chow. And costs run up quickly. The center is a nonprofit institution and depends on West Yellowstone's two grocery stores and the Bozeman Costco for donations of old fruit and vegetables. Hunters often donate meat and bones.

“If we didn't have those three stores, we'd be out of business,” Scott said.

But the center relies on the general public for donations of peanut butter, honey, trail mix, syrup and even spices, cooking extracts and perfumes.

The sweet treats help keep the bears stimulated. The spices and extracts are spread on the ground in the wolf exhibit so the canines can roll in them and scent mark.

The wolves seemed as delighted as the bears on a recent visit, happily rolling in paprika and cumin, then grinning like a Labrador that's just found a rotten whitefish.

Other welcome donations include unsalted nuts, jam, perfume (the wolves like it), wrapped poultry and cooking extracts like cinnamon, vanilla or almond.

All donations must be in sealed, unused containers.

Contact the center at 646-7001 or on the Web at www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com for more information. Donations can be dropped off at the center at 201 South Canyon St. in West Yellowstone.

Scott McMillion is at scottm@dailychronicle.com

Reader Comments