This story was first printed by WyoFile on Oct. 23, 2024.

Grizzly bear 399 — a 28-year-old bear recognized to hundreds of thousands of individuals and who was an financial power, drawing numerous vacationers to Jackson Gap — died late Tuesday in a Snake River Canyon automobile strike.

The matriarch bruin who raised her cubs roadside in Grand Teton Nationwide Park for almost 20 years was fatally struck and later recognized via ear tags and a microchip, in line with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The whereabouts of her single cub are unknown.

“Presently, there is no such thing as a proof to counsel the yearling was additionally concerned within the incident, however the service is monitoring the world,” the federal company said in a information launch.

Grand Teton Park officers declined throughout a Wednesday press convention to supply extra particulars of the crash, noting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, in flip, supplied sparse particulars of the circumstances of the collision, although spokesman Joe Szuszwalak did say that he heard the automobile concerned within the collision was “totaled.” The velocity restrict alongside Freeway 89 within the Snake River Canyon, which connects Jackson to Alpine, is 55 mph.

There isn’t a investigation into criminality regarding the accident, Szuszwalak stated. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Workplace, he stated, led the response to the crash.

A Fish and Wildlife Service staffer based mostly in Jackson did reply to the scene, however the function of the go to was to watch for the lacking subadult. There was no proof that the yearling grizzly was concerned within the crash or remained within the space, Szuszwalak stated.

Grizzly 399 first rose to prominence in 2006, when she started frequenting roadside areas in northern Grand Teton Nationwide Park with a three-cub litter. Over the following 18 years, she repeated the sample each three springs, reemerging with a brand new batch of cubs. She as soon as raised 4 cubs — an distinctive rarity — and in 2023, at age 27, emerged with a single cub, making her the oldest feminine grizzly alive with a cub in your complete Better Yellowstone Ecosystem. All advised, she gave delivery to 18 recognized cubs within the years following her personal delivery in 1996, in line with Justin Schwabedissen, a Grand Teton bear biologist.

“The grizzly bear is an iconic species that helps make the Better Yellowstone Ecosystem so extraordinary,” Grand Teton Nationwide Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins stated in a press release. “Grizzly bear 399 has been maybe essentially the most outstanding ambassador for the species. She has impressed numerous guests into conservation stewardship around the globe and shall be missed.”

‘She modified my life,’ Jackson Gap resident says

Many wildlife photographers and fans, and particularly Jackson Gap resident Tom Managelsen delighted within the grizzly sow’s generally day by day shows.

“She modified my life,” Mangelsen stated Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve all the time been an advocate for black bears and cougars and wolves and every part, however she made it much more heartfelt, as a result of I felt that I knew her.”

“I discovered quite a bit from her conduct,” Mangelsen added. “She modified my complete view of bears and made me wish to shield them, as a result of I noticed what a sentient, emotional animal she was.”

Alongside along with her reproductive success and memorable life story, the bear had sure habits that helped increase her attraction, Schwabedissen stated.

“399 grew to become so famend through the years as a result of she was elevating cubs in areas the place she was fairly seen to the visiting public,” he stated. “It allowed lots of people the possibility to watch her in a wild habitat.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Schwabedissen recalled numerous days over his 13 years within the nationwide park observing 399 and her cubs — and watching individuals expertise the transformative energy of seeing bears within the wild.

“I believe that’s what hits us right now, is not only her passing, but in addition fascinated with what she meant to the guests and native residents and likewise to our groups and all of the employees who’ve devoted a lot right here within the park to her well-being and the long-term success of the bear inhabitants,” he stated.

The grizzly sow and her offspring additionally helped encourage an array of “bearwise” protocols round Jackson Gap, he stated, from electrical fences round hen coops to safe meals and trash storage.

Grizzly 399’s worldwide fame

Grizzly 399 endured trials and tribulations and heartbreak — and her trustworthy fan membership tracked all of it. The final a number of years her life grew to become extra fraught as she frequented areas exterior south of Grand Teton Nationwide Park.

The storied sow overcame incidents that often doom bears — like being purposefully fed — partly as a result of state and federal wildlife managers gave her particular therapy in recognition of her world fame.

“Individuals from around the globe have adopted grizzly bear 399 for a number of a long time,” Hilary Cooley, grizzly bear restoration coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, stated. “At 28 years outdated, she was the oldest recognized reproducing feminine grizzly bear within the Better Yellowstone Ecosystem.”

A mom to eight litters through the years, Grizzly 399 was recognized for attracting preposterously giant crowds. Individuals would come to the park — even from different international locations — simply to see her.

“She’s touched hearts in each nook of the world, and that’s based mostly on those who I’ve stood with on the facet of the highway,” Jackson Gap resident Cindy Cambell advised WyoFile in 2023. “I’ve talked to individuals, and watched tears rolling down their faces once they’re minutes away from having to run to catch a aircraft to Portugal or Spain or China or Australia.”

An envoy for grizzlies, Bear 399’s dying provides to what’s been an particularly lethal 12 months for her species within the Better Yellowstone Ecosystem. She was the 66th recognized grizzly bear to die within the area 2024.

On common, 3.3 grizzly bears are struck and killed by automobiles within the ecosystem yearly, in line with Grand Teton Nationwide Park.

“Wildlife automobile collisions and battle are unlucky,” stated Angi Bruce, Wyoming Recreation and Fish Division director. “We’re grateful the motive force is okay and perceive the neighborhood is saddened to listen to that grizzly bear 399 has died.”