REMEMBERING 399...The Middle Years

 

UPDATE-The authorities have been trying to decide what to do with 399’s remains. Options mentioned were having her preserved as a taxidermy specimen or cremating her and spreading her ashes in the Pilgrim Creek Road area.  It was announced today that the second option was chosen and completed. This was by far the most popular choice of her legions of fans.

After our introduction to 399 in 2008 we did not encounter her again until 2014 when Sarah (daughter) and Cheryl (wife) saw her with cubs born in 2011…

399 may not have been a household name for some people but her image had become an icon for grizzly bears everywhere. She was liked by thousands on social media. The popular show, Nature on PBS aired a documentary about her—Queen of the Tetons. In 2018, 60 Minutes ran a special featuring well known wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen, who lives just outside of Grand Teton National Park and has followed her closely for much of her life. Grizzly 399 was photographed, and viewed by visitors, than any other grizzly bear in the world.  She has also earned worldwide attention for the number of cubs (18) she has produced.

By the time of the next photo, taken in 2015, she had once again parted from her cubs and was on the prowl for a new mate...

So much has already been written about her that I will not add more than a few brief anecdotes to accompany the photos that follow...

 2016 was an exceptional year for grizzly sightings. The large boar Grizzly 679 shown above and below was in Grand Teton seeking a receptive female...

Bears rub on trees and power poles to leave their calling card. Other bears can tell from the scent and height who is in the area. In the following images Grizzly 610 (daughter of 399) and her cubs investigate the pole shortly after Bruno left...

399 emerged from hibernation with only one cub in 2016. It is customary among the "regulars" in Grand Teton that the first person to see a cub of the year (COY) gets to name it. In this case that person was Bernie Scates, he chose the name Snowy...

In short order 399 and Snowy checked out the scent pole...

3399 and Snowy were frequently sighted in the Pilgrim Creek area where their antics entertained hundreds of park visitors...

Another celebrity grizzly that appeared was the female called Blondie...

Grizzlies are naturally territorial and females with cubs especially so. I suppose it was inevitable that a conflict would arise between 399 and Blondie...

As you can see, the chase that unfolded was epic...

399 chased Blondie around the meadow at full speed while snowy tried his best to keep up...

After several minutes 399 remembered Snowy...but the cub was nowhere to be seen...

399 frantically called for Snowy but to no avail...

After what seemed like an eternity 399 and Snowy found each other and Blondie high-tailed it for a less hostile area...

One thing about there not being a sibling for Snowy meant that 399 had to fill in as playmate...

The summer of 2016 was unusually hot which normally means that wildlife won't be as active. Over the years we learned to look around water sources when the temperature was high...

Sure enough, we found 399 and Snowy cooling off in a small pond...

The reason we are able to see these bears so well is the same reason so many of them do not live to adulthood. The sows choose to live and raise their young near roads and human habitations (known as front-country) because the boars and other predators prefer to be in the more remote back-country. The bears feel safer near humans, especially since there is no hunting season for grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. 

Sadly, the popularity of these bears means more traffic. One summer evening in 2016 Snowy became a victim of the increased traffic...

  

Watch for my next post featuring 399 in the days to come.

Thanks for visiting, be well, and come back soon.