Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Moose are most often seen where water and willows are nearby.
Montana and Wyoming are perhaps best known for the predators that most visitors want
to glimpse.
Black bears
can be found in forested areas and often see much more human
interaction than their larger counterpart, the
grizzly bear.
Grizzlies once roamed the entire
northern hemisphere, and when Lewis and Clark traversed the area, there were likely more
than 50,000 grizzlies across the West. Although there are still healthy populations in west-
ern Canada and Alaska, grizzly numbers in the rest of the United States declined to less than
1,000 by 1975. Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed them as a threatened spe-
cies, the population has recovered to include an estimated 580 bears in the Greater Yellow-
stone ecosystem. The Northern Continental Divide ecosystem in western and northwestern
Montana is believed to be home to the largest number of grizzlies—approximately 765 as of
2013. The grizzlies along the Rocky Mountain Front have, in the last several years, started
coming out of their alpine habitat to regain their status as residents of the plains, something
not seen since Lewis and Clark traveled the region at the turn of the 19th century. Indeed,
