America’s most beloved bear is dead. Here’s why Grizzly 399 mattered.
The oldest known grizzly mother in history, the 28-year-old bear was often photographed with her cubs in Grand Teton National Park before she was killed by a car in October.
A brown bear surrounded by brush in warm sunlight.
Grizzly 399 peers above the sagebrush during spring in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.
Bozeman, Montana — The grizzly bear named 399, likely the most famous bear in the world, was killed by a vehicle on Tuesday south of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a sad coda to the life of a truly remarkable wild animal, experts say.
At 28 years old, 399 was the oldest known grizzly bear mother in history, birthing at least 18 cubs. She had a yearling cub, Spirit, with her when she died, according to the National Park Service, but its whereabouts—and chances for survival—are unknown.
Not only was 399 a prolific mother, she was a famous sight in and around Grand Teton National Park, attracting a solid fan base of photographers who came to see her ambling around the park with her cub—or, in 2023, her quadruplets.
A mountain range in view with green scenic landscape.
A grizzly bear nicknamed Blondie leads her two cubs through a meadow below Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park. The region surrou…Read More
“I had never encountered an animal like her, and never will again. She was that special,” said nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen from the front deck of his rustic log cabin home near Moose, Wyoming, only a few miles from where he first caught a fleeting glimpse of her almost 20 years ago.
Scientists have speculated 399 chose to raise her young around busy park roads and highways to keep them safer from aggressive male bears, though that also put the family at risk of getting hit by a vehicle. Such wildlife collisions are common in the region, and one of her cubs was previously killed by a vehicle, according to the NPS. (Read how trains are killing grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies.)
Yet her visibility to the public has also inspired countless visitors to learn more about grizzlies and embrace their conservation, Chip Jenkins, superintendent of Grand Teton National Park, said in a statement.
“She changed the way the federal government and state agencies deal with bears, and the way she magnetized public attention put them on notice that a massive number of people care about bears. That kind of overwhelming sentiment didn’t exist before,” says Sue Cedarholm, a Jackson Hole wildlife photographer.
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