Discover the Wonders of the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota
- Britta, Midwest NoBounds LLC
- 15 minutes ago
- 5 min read
The North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota is a fun place to explore and hang out with Black Bears! Take a seat in the viewing area and enjoy watching the Black Bears roam and climb. A secondary viewing area is the upstairs balcony. There you can feed the bears a snack and the bears love to eat! You can put the food on a pulley system that encourages the bears to climb up the tree post while keeping you at a safe distance. Another feeding option is to drop the food down a shoot that also encourages the bears to stand up and reach. The enclosure includes a pond and waterfall with 2.5 acres of land habitat. The bears have their own dens giving them the option of taking a nap or roam freely within the enclosure. With different angles of viewing areas, it is a photographers delight and a true joy for everyone to see.
Inside the North American Bear Center there is much to see and do. Displays are everywhere! You can not only learn about Black Bears but you can also learn about all the different species of bears. Including, seeing a life size skeletal replica of the extinct Short Faced Bear. Not only are there bear mounts but other mounts of other animals that share territories with bears. You can learn about these different animals and how they play an important role to the bears and ecosystem.
Information and fun facts are posted everywhere including short video clips and touch screen monitors. There is also a theater that features the BBC documentary "Bearwalker of the Northwoods" featuring the founder of North American Bear Center, Dr. Lynn Rogers.
The Cub Room is a great place for kids to play and be bear cubs. They can explore the bear cave or be silly and put on a puppet show.
One thing that you don't want to miss, is to get a chance to experience a close encounter to the Black Bears that call the North American Bear Center their home. Every hour, you can go "Behind the Scenes" and get a guided tour. There you will be just a few short feet from the bears fenced enclosure. The guides will share not only fun facts about black bears but will also share fun facts about the bears that they care for. You will learn about their individual personalities and how they became full time residents. The guided tour is Free with admission.
In addition to what the North American Bear Center has to offer is a nature trail! Explore the property and enjoy the forested land. The nature trail is a quarter mile long and features signs for a self guided tour.
The North American Bear Center first opened its doors in May 2007 all thanks to the founder Dr. Lynn Rogers and his wife, Donna. Dr. Lynn Rogers was born in 1939 and had always seen bears in pictures and magazine articles as ferocious snarling animals that acted like angry wild beasts. He wasn't the only one that saw bears that way. Bears were looked at as a problem which caused there to be no hunting regulations. This unfortunately depleted the black bear population. Dr. Lynn Rogers research of black bears began in 1967. He soon learns that black bears aren't these crazed monsters that they are presented to be. In his field studies, Dr. Lynn Rogers took the Jane Goodall's approach to learn more about survival behaviors and habitat. With this approach he was able to be in the presents of the black bears without disturbing their behaviors. No one had been able to collect as much data and information as what Dr. Lynn Rogers was able to do. He was able to prove and show data how humans are able to coexists with black bears and how important they are to our ecosystem. In spring of 1971 legislation passed reducing black bear hunting from 52 weeks to 6 weeks. Thanks to Dr. Lynn Rogers the black bear population has been thriving ever since.
As Dr. Lynn Rogers research continued, he was able to gain more knowledge thanks to the improvement of technology. Bear dens were very little studied due to being able to do research and causing the bears to leave their dens for a new undisturbed location. Through his field research and Jane Goodall's approach, Dr. Lynn Rogers managed to gain trust with 8 black bears and was able to install webcams in the bear dens without causing abandonment. This new revelation brought new research and attracted attention around the world. With over 50 years of research Dr. Lynn Rogers has been featured on the Discovery Channel, Nat Geo Wild, BBC, and more. His research still continues, bringing education to the world and fun for all who visit the North American Bear Center.
My Experience
It's easy for me to start by saying "I had a fantastic time!" because I truly did! When I first walked in, I was impressed by how much there was to see while still enjoying an organized spacious open floor layout. You can easily spend hours or even days looking at everything and enjoying a relaxing sit while watching the bears roam around and snack. Everyone, especially kids, get a huge kick out of getting an opportunity to feed the bears on the upper balcony. The "Behind the Scenes" tour was one of my favorite parts. The gentleman that gave the tour did a fantastic job sharing facts and made the tour very fun and entertaining. At one point, one of the bears sat down and he jokingly said "Don't listen to her. She's a beggar. She gets lots of snacks." Luckily, bears are big eaters so while visiting you'll have high chances of the bears being out and about. However, they catch up on their sleep in the winter time and hibernate. This causes the North American Bear Center to be closed to the public starting in late October and reopen early April. So, be sure to plan your visit accordingly and don't forget to check out the gift shop! They have everything from apparel, toys, snacks, home decor, and so much more! If you are unable to visit but would like to see the black bears you can go on their website and watch the webcams. Even though we were there for a good portion of the day, there was still things I didn't get a chance see. One of them is walking the nature trail and you know what that means. The next time I'm back in Ely, Minnesota I will definitely be coming back for another visit!
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Location
1926 MN-169
Ely, MN. 55731
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