Montana Grizzly Encounter

On a super cold day, with the threat of rain all day keeping us from going on a hike, we instead chose to visit Montana Grizzly Encounter near Bozeman, MT. 

The bears can be viewed up close and personal in a large enclosure separated by what seems to be way-too-small-a-wall. Since I did not see human bodies scattered all over, I assumed we were safe enough. The handlers hide snacks all around this enclosure so the bears have to forage as they would in nature. Although it is a sanctuary, none of the bears will ever be released as they were all born in captivity so their natural instincts are severely stunted.

During our visit we got to meet Jake and Maggi. Jake weighs in at almost 900 pounds while Maggi is a petite 600. They were very playful during our short visit (it was super cold and we were standing outside) giving ample opportunity to snap the 80+ photos I took (keeping only the four).