About Bear Country USA

Pauline Casey was born in New York City, and grew up in the Los Angeles area. She graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles with a degree in nursing. She practiced public health nursing with the Los Angeles County Health Department in the Watts District. Pauline came to South Dakota in 1958 working as a public health nurse with the Pennington County Health Department. She also practiced as a staff nurse with the Rapid City School System and as a nursing education assistant in public health with South Dakota State College.

Dr. Dennis “Doc” Casey, and his wife Pauline, opened Bear Country U.S.A. in August 1972 with 11 black bear, one cougar, one wolf, three buffalo and one large bull elk. The park is still owned and operated by Pauline and 3 of her children; Shannon, Mike and John. Wildlife at Bear Country U.S.A. has expanded in the past since opening over the years featuring over 200 black bear and over has over other wildlife, it is the largest private holding of black bears in the world.

“There were no zoos nearby when we opened,” says Pauline Casey. “We wanted the people of Rapid City to enjoy the animals like we did. What we envisioned as a local attraction has grown to draw people from all over North American and some foreign countries”.

The biggest change at Bear Country has been the number of animals living at the park. Most of the wildlife are born on the premises and are hand-raised by the park staff. Every spring the Casey’s look forward to a new crop of bear cubs.

The cubs are born in early January while their mothers are in hibernation. The cubs stay with their mothers for eight weeks. Then, in late March, Bear Country handlers collect the cubs from their dens, and staff members bottle feed the babies for another six to eight weeks.

Bear Country U.S.A. takes the babies from their mothers for two simple reasons: manageability here at the park and their health.

“In the wild only 40% of cubs see the end of their first year,” says Pauline Casey. “”By human-imprinting the animals shortly after birth (2 months) we are able to manage them as adults making vaccinating and moving them much easier and safer. Lastly, we have earned a strong reputation among zoos, wildlife parks and even movie studios for even-tempered, manageable animals.”

Along with the bears, park staff members raise young timber wolves, arctic wolves, bobcats and mountain lions throughout the late winter, spring and early summer as they are born at Bear Country.