Bears Star On Lost Then Found GoPro in West Yellowstone

What happens when a camera becomes a toy for grizzly bears? The answer might surprise you, showing their intelligence in a whole new light.

GRIZZLIES ON GO-PRO

Angela Montana of the Montana Outdoor Radio Show shared a delightful account of what happened when a hunter left a GoPro Hero 11 at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, and what the bears did with it might change how you think about every piece of gear you leave unattended in the backcountry.

Angela says the footage isn’t dramatic — there’s no roaring, growling or charging. It’s quieter than that, and somehow more unsettling. A huge wild animal picks up the camera, mouths it, works it over with its paws, carries it around like it’s deciding something. That’s the part that sticks with you.

NOT JUST ENTERTAINING WILDLIFE CONTENT

It’s a look at the exact behavior that destroys trail cameras, tears open day packs, and turns a carefully planned pack-out into a disaster.

The bears didn’t sniff it and move on. They investigated it the way grizzlies investigate everything they don’t immediately recognize — thoroughly, persistently, with teeth and claws involved. The protective case held up, but the interaction went on long enough to capture close-up footage that no wildlife photographer would ever get voluntarily. You can see the curiosity working in real time. The animal isn’t frightened, isn’t aggressive. It’s just methodical.

That same methodical curiosity is what drives a wild grizzly to rip apart an improperly hung food bag, destroy a trail camera on a game trail, or dig into a hunter’s unattended day pack during a pack-out. The setting is different. The behavior is identical.

READ MORE: How a Bypass Channel Has Changed Fishing on a Popular Montana River

ABOUT THE GRIZZLY & WOLF RECOVERY CENTER

West Yellowstone's Grizzly & Wolf Recovery Center  houses bears that can’t go back to the wild — most of them because they got into human food, learned the association, and crossed a line that wildlife managers couldn’t walk back. The facility does two things well: it educates the public about grizzly behavior, and it physically tests bear-resistant products. If a cooler or canister survives a session with those bears, it earns its certification.

And in this case, they were also kind enough to share a grizzly bear form of selfies!