BIG SKY — Imagine you're enjoying a peaceful walk in the woods when suddenly, a bear comes charging at you. The folks at Wild Big Sky are using their wildlife education trailer to teach people how to manage those tricky situations.
Caroline Levy grew up in New York City. When she stopped by the wildlife education trailer, she wasn't particularly interested in wildlife education as she had mainly been to Montana in the winter.
"I mean, the charging bear was unexpected. Thankfully, I have not had that experience in real life," she says, recounting the bear spray training.
Jeff Cadry is Lone Mountain Land Company's environmental manager. Last summer, they launched the mobile wildlife education center at the Big Sky farmers market, which reached over 2,500 residents, tourists, and the local workforce.
"You know, we're all-encompassing, so everyone from your first-time tourist to your long-time local. We like to try to provide something for everyone and promote safety and the well-being of humans and wildlife in our landscape," Cadry says.
The biggest hit is the electronic charging bear, which reaches up to 25 miles per hour.
"When you pull that safety off, this is your trigger. Then you push that down and spray," Cadry says, demonstrating bear spray safety.
Last summer, they went through over 400 cans of training bear spray. Jeff tells me the bear attracts a crowd.
"It's a big attraction. One person starts, and then everyone sees people going, drawing people in," Cadry says.
His biggest takeaway for wildlife safety?
"I think the biggest piece of advice is to give them space. The more space, the better, and then also be prepared to think about what you would do in that scenario, and always having your bear spray and making a lot of noise when you're out there so the wildlife knows you're around," Cadry says.
This type of wildlife safety advice is something Levy is thankful for having.
"It's been great to have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about how to engage with the wildlife safely and enjoy recreating in a way that's safe both for them and for us," Levy says.
The education trailer appears at local resorts and the farmer's market, but the company also has other plans.
"You know, continuing outreach like this and finding other events that we can go to in this trailer are very versatile, so we are willing and happy to work towards any events out there," Cadry says.
The group initially launched a website [wildbigsky.com] to centralize the best information on safe human-wildlife interactions.
