Idaho Taxidermists Help with Grizzly Education

When it comes to educating the public about bear identification, seeing is believing. The Be Bear Aware program sponsored by the Center for Wildlife Information has developed a unique bear education public outreach trailer. With the center's help, Idaho Fish and Game has been developing its own bear education outreach trailer. The trailers contain a variety of hands-on teaching tools, but the center pieces of the trailers are full-sized grizzly and black bear mounts. The Idaho trailer has been under construction for nearly a year, but lacked a grizzly mount. Now thanks to a grizzly hide donated by Wyoming Game and Fish, the Idaho trailer will be completed next week after the annual Idaho Taxidermists Association convention in Boise. Association taxidermists will be donating their time and talents to mount the bear during their convention, and the public is invited to attend and see how it is done. This year the show will be at the Doubletree Hotel Riverside, 2900 Chinden Boulevard in Boise. It will be open to the public from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, June 10, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 11. Admission is $3, children under 12 are free. The taxidermists are planning on mounting the bear in the exhibit area, so the public will be able to watch the process unfold. Once the work is completed, the grizzly will join a full-size black bear already residing in the trailer. The trailer will be exhibited at fairs and other public events throughout the state but primarily in the areas within the Yellowstone Ecosystem. Similar work has been donated by taxidermists to create educational mounts as part of the Be Bear Aware program. "The work and skill donated by the taxidermists has been critical to the development of these highly successful education outreach mounts," said Chuck Bartlebaugh, director of the Center for Wildlife Information. To learn more about the Idaho Taxidermists Association and convention: http://www.idahotaxidermistsassoc.com.