Karelian Bear Dog of the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

Jewel is a nine-year-old Karelian Bear Dog. Karelians are native to the Finland-Russia border where they have been used to hunt bears, wolves and moose. They are powerful, fearless and as the Finns say "burn with intelligence". For four years Jewel had worked in the Wind River Bear Institute's (WRBI) Partners-in-life Program. Since its inception in 1995, WRBI has been changing the way bear managers work with problem bears. The ultimate goal of the program is the coexistence of humans and bears by preventing and reducing conflicts.