Wildlife photographer Patricia Lavin captured this image of then-26-year-old Grizzly 399 in September 2022. (Patricia Lavin)
Grizzly bear 399 — a 28-year-old bear known to millions of people and who was an economic force, drawing countless tourists to Jackson Hole — died late Tuesday in a Snake River Canyon vehicle strike.
The matriarch bruin who raised her cubs roadside in Grand Teton National Park for nearly two decades was fatally struck and later identified through ear tags and a microchip, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The whereabouts of her single cub are unknown.
“At this time, there is no evidence to suggest the yearling was also involved in the incident, but the Service is monitoring the area,” the federal agency stated in a news release.
Grizzly 399 first rose to prominence in 2006, when she began frequenting roadside areas in northern Grand Teton National Park with a three-cub litter. During the next 18 years, she repeated the pattern every three springs, reemerging with a new batch of cubs. She once raised four cubs — an exceptional rarity — and in 2023, at age 27, emerged with a single cub, making her the oldest female grizzly alive with a cub in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
“The grizzly bear is an iconic species that helps make the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem so extraordinary,” Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins said in a statement. “Grizzly bear 399 has been perhaps the most prominent ambassador for the species. She has inspired countless visitors into conservation stewardship around the world and will be missed.”
Many wildlife photographers and enthusiasts, and especially Jackson Hole resident Tom Managelsen delighted in the grizzly sow’s sometimes daily displays.
“She changed my life,” Mangelsen said Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve always been an advocate for black bears and cougars and wolves and everything, but she made it a lot more heartfelt, because I felt that I knew her.”
“I learned a lot from her behavior,” Mangelsen added. “She changed my whole view of bears and made me want to protect them, because I saw what a sentient, emotional animal she was.”
Grizzly 399 endured trials and tribulations and heartbreak — and her faithful fanclub tracked it all. The last several years her life became more fraught as she frequented areas outside south of Grand Teton National Park.
The storied sow overcame incidents that frequently doom bears — like being purposefully fed — partly because state and federal wildlife managers gave her special treatment in recognition of her global fame.
“People from around the world have followed grizzly bear 399 for several decades,” Hilary Cooley, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said. “At 28 years old, she was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.”
A mother to eight litters over the years, Grizzly 399 was known for attracting preposterously large crowds. People would come to the park — even from other countries — just to see her.
“She’s touched hearts in every corner of the world, and that’s based on people that I’ve stood with on the side of the road,” Jackson Hole resident Cindy Cambell told WyoFile in 2023. “I’ve talked to people, and watched tears rolling down their faces when they’re minutes away from having to run to catch a plane to Portugal or Spain or China or Australia.”
An ambassador for grizzlies, Bear 399’s death adds to what’s been an especially deadly year for her species in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She was the 66th known grizzly bear to die in the region 2024.
On average, 3.3 grizzly bears are struck and killed by vehicles in the ecosystem annually, according to Grand Teton National Park.
“Wildlife vehicle collisions and conflict are unfortunate,” said Angi Bruce, Wyoming Game and Fish Department director. “We are thankful the driver is okay and understand the community is saddened to hear that grizzly bear 399 has died.”