If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 669

 

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone Bear World, Rexburg, Idaho

 

A product of Mountain West Prints, 2010, this postcard has a Yellowstone Staff photo of the entrance to Bear World.  There is no identity code number or letter; however, there is a blurb at the upper left corner on the reverse.  The blurb:  “Yellowstone Bear World is a unique drive through park with North American wildlife.  The park features bears, the majority being black bears of all ages and all colors.  Grizzly bears, wolves, bison, elk, deer, and moose are also found free ranging in a natural setting.  Yellowstone Bear World is located in Rexburg, Idaho.”  And, yes, the photo on the card is purposefully crooked. 

 

 

 

Two young black bears playing

 

This card and a few others were purchased on a recent trip from the gift shop of Bear World.  Cars are allowed to drive slowly, 2 to 3 miles per hour, through the grounds.  Car doors and windows had to be closed and no one may get out of their car.  We quickly saw why these rules were in place.  The animals are not caged, they can freely roam around and seem not to notice the cars that come through.  Any pictures we took had to be through a car window, so perhaps not as ideal as desired. 

 

 

 

An example of how close the bears come to the cars during the drive-thru

 

The first section of the park had several different animals, such as, bison, swans, elk, and deer.  About half way through there was a gate that an attendant opened which led to the bear enclosure where there were many bears meandering around or lounging in the shade.  The bears could freely walk across the road, thus the restriction on speed and keeping doors and windows closed as well as staying inside the vehicle. We did not count the bears but there seemed to be a lot of them.   There are both black bears and grizzly bears in the park.

 

Visitors can drive through those two areas as many times as they desire and the admission ticket is good for two days.  Also on the grounds is a small amusement ride area and a petting zoo.  Three times a day the park offers children and adults the chance to feed bear cubs and pet them in the petting zoo. This is the only place where visitors are allowed to feed the bears in Yellowstone and it is supervised by trained staff members.  An optional Wildlife Excursion is offered where an animal keeper takes adults and children on a large truck and explains interesting facts about the animals found in Yellowstone Park.  There is an additional charge for the excursion.

 

 

 

Bears resting in the shade

The bear enclosure includes feeding areas, and man-made shelters, like the one at the left in the picture, for the bears to rest in or climb.

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Bear_World

https://yellowstonebearworld.com/