CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A well-known grizzly bear beloved for many years by numerous vacationers, biologists {and professional} wildlife photographers in Grand Teton Nationwide Park is useless after being struck by a car in western Wyoming.

Grizzly No. 399 died Tuesday evening on a freeway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officers mentioned in an announcement Wednesday.

At the very least 28 years previous, the bear was the oldest recognized reproducing feminine grizzly within the Yellowstone ecosystem. Every spring, wildlife lovers awaited her emergence from her den to see what number of cubs she had birthed over the winter.

Named for the identification tag affixed by researchers to her ear, she amazed all by persevering with to breed into previous age. Not like many grizzly bears, she was typically seen close to roads in Grand Teton, drawing crowds and site visitors jams. Scientists speculate such habits saved male grizzlies at a distance so they might not be a risk to her cubs. Some consider male grizzlies kill cubs to convey the mom into warmth.

A yearling cub was with the bear when she was struck and although not believed to have been harm, the cub’s whereabouts had been unknown, in keeping with the assertion.

The motive force was unhurt. No additional particulars concerning the crash had been instantly launched.

“Wildlife car collisions and battle are unlucky. We’re grateful the driving force is okay and perceive the neighborhood is saddened to listen to that grizzly bear 399 has died,” Wyoming Recreation and Fish Division Director Angi Bruce mentioned within the assertion.

Information of the bear’s demise unfold rapidly on a Fb web page that tracks the sow and different wildlife in Grand Teton and Yellowstone nationwide parks. Greater than 1,000 folks rapidly posted feedback calling her a queen, a legend and an envoy for grizzly bears. They had been heartbroken and devastated by her demise, calling it a tragic loss. Many expressed concern for her cub.

Many take into account the Yellowstone area’s grizzlies a conservation success story. Whereas they continue to be protected beneath the Endangered Species Act, their numbers have surged as a lot as tenfold, to as many as 1,000 animals, because the Seventies.

Inhabitants progress has meant extra encounters with folks and livestock, nonetheless, with the bears typically on the shedding finish. Hunters generally mistake grizzlies for legal-to-hunt black bears or kill grizzlies in self-defense — and wildlife managers typically kill grizzlies that prey on cattle and sheep.