Cheyenne, Wyo. — A famous grizzly bear, beloved for decades by thousands of tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton National Park, has died after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.
Grizzly 399 died Tuesday night off the highway in the Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement Wednesday. He added that the driver was not injured. A one-year-old cub was with the grizzly, and although he does not appear to have been injured, his whereabouts are unknown, according to the statement.
The circumstances of the crash were unclear. Grand Teton and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said they had no further information to release.
The 28-year-old no. 399 is believed to be the oldest breeding female grizzly in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Every spring, wildlife enthusiasts eagerly waited for her to emerge from her den to see how many cubs she had given birth to over the winter, and were quick to share the news online.
Named after the identity tag that researchers placed on her ear, this grizzly continued to reproduce well into old age, surprising observers. Unlike many grizzlies, she was often seen near roads in Grand Teton, drawing crowds and traffic delays.
Scientists speculate that this behavior makes male grizzlies less of a threat to their cubs. Some people believe that male grizzly bears kill their cubs to save their mothers from heat.
The bear has given birth to 18 cubs in eight litters over the years, including four in a litter in 2020. The bear is about 7 feet (2.1 m) tall and weighs about 400 pounds (180 kg).
Sometimes hundreds of visitors would gather in the large meadow to see her in the evenings, Grand Teton bear biologist Justin Schwabedissen recalled.
“Some young people thought it was the greatest thing in the world to see a bear and her cubs wrestling among the wildflowers,” Schwabedissen said.
Another time I met a recently retired Midwestern factory worker whose dream was to see bears in the wild.
“She cried that night because she didn’t get a chance to see herself,” Schwawedisen said.
News of the bear’s death spread quickly on Facebook pages that track grizzly bears and other wildlife in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. By late Wednesday, more than 2,000 people had posted comments calling Bear a “great queen,” “an icon” and “an amazing ambassador of her kind.”
They were heartbroken and devastated by her death and called it a tragic loss.
Tour guides Jack and Gina Bayles, who run the Team 399 Facebook page and plan to visit the site where Mama Bear was killed, said Mama Bear has fans all over the world.
“You could say she happened to be an ambassador for that species,” Jack Bayles said. “My biggest worry is that now people will lose interest in bears.”
The grizzly has gone through a period of conflict over its species in the region, with state officials trying to gain management control of the grizzly from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying bear numbers have rebounded past levels that could be considered endangered. .
Conservation groups have objected that climate change is endangering some of the bears’ main food sources, including whitewood pine cones.
At one time, approximately 50,000 grizzlies roamed the western United States. However, outside of Alaska, it is currently limited to the Yellowstone region and the northern Rocky Mountains. By 1975, their numbers had dwindled to just over 100 in the Yellowstone region, and they were listed as endangered for the first time.
There are currently about 1,000 grizzly bears living in the area that includes Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and surrounding areas in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. They are still protected by the federal government, but have been placed on and then back on the threatened list twice in recent years amid an ongoing tug-of-war between political and court decisions.
Government biologists say the population is healthy and officials in the three Yellowstone states continue to try to remove them from federal protection.
On average, about three grizzly bears are killed in vehicle collisions in the region each year, with 51 killed since 2009, according to data collected by researchers and released by the park. Number 399 is the second grizzly killed by a vehicle in the area this year.
“Wildlife vehicle collisions and conflicts are unfortunate. We are grateful that the driver is safe and understand that the community is saddened to hear that Grizzly Bear 399 has died,” Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioner Angi Bruce said in a statement.
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Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, contributed to this report.
