| Grizzly 399 | |
| Birth Place: | Pilgrim Creek, Wyoming |
| Years Active: | 2005–present |
| Species: | Ursus arctos horribilis |
| Gender: | Female |
| Children: | Grizzly 610, 18 total children, numerous grandchildren |
Grizzly 399 (born 1996) is a grizzly bear inhabiting Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest. She is followed by as many as 40 wildlife photographers,[1] [2] and millions of tourists come to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to see her and other grizzly bears.[3] Grizzly 399 is the most famous brown bear mother in the world, with her own Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.[4] [5]
Grizzly bears Ursus arctos horribilis are a subspecies of the North American brown bear species U. arctos.[6] [7] Several decades ago, grizzlies were assessed as being at risk of rapid extinction due to the rate at which the population was declining. Protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 has resulted in a population rebound: there are now approximately 2,000 grizzly bears in the contiguous United States, of which about half are estimated to live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Grizzlies are stereotyped as ferocious, but the typical bear avoids contact with humans, living away from settlements and attacking only to protect themselves when startled by a human.[8] [9]
Grizzly 399 is a grizzly bear who resides on Federal land in a range of hundreds of miles throughout the Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. She was born in a den in Pilgrim Creek, Wyoming, in the winter of 1996.[10] She was captured in 2001 and fitted with a radio-collar by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. She was the 399th bear that they began tracking with this method as part of the long-term research project. In 2018, they stopped monitoring her via radio telemetry with the research continuing as she resides in an area where she is very observable.[11]
When she reached age 21, she became older than is usual for a grizzly, as "more than 85 percent of them are killed because of some kind of human activity before they reach old age".[8] She weighs almost 400lb. When standing upright on her hind legs, she is . Unlike the typical grizzly, she lives in close proximity to humans, although she is not particularly concerned with them; scientists have speculated that this was in response to a death of a cub in a more remote area, perhaps killed by a male grizzly. She has not killed a human despite at least two known close encounters, and so has avoided euthanasia.
She has reared many successful progeny, including 22 cubs and grandcubs. In mid-May 2020 she was observed with four new cubs born the previous winter.[12] She has taught her offspring habits to benefit from rather than be harmed by human proximity, such as loitering during the fall elk hunt to consume abandoned elk guts, and looking both ways before crossing roadways to avoid being struck by vehicles, a common cause of death among bears.
Despite this, at least three of her cubs have been killed due to human encounters, including Grizzly 399's only 2016 cub, nicknamed 'Snowy' because of his whitish-blonde face coloration. In June of that year, Snowy was struck and killed by a car in Grand Teton National Park, an incident investigated as a potential hit-and-run accident.[13] [14] In all, she has lost half of her descendants, due to encounters with people or male bears.
On May 21, 2020, Steve Franklin, wildlife photographer, was in Grand Teton National Forest on opening day. He fulfilled a bucket list item when he saw Grizzly 399 came out of hibernation with four cubs at approximately 2:30 p.m. At the time, this was her largest brood to date, which occurred in Pilgrim Creek as usual.[15] On May 16, 2023, Grizzly 399 emerged from hibernation and appeared in the area of Pilgrim Creek in Grand Teton National Park. She was seen with a single cub.[16] At age 26 or 27, this made her the oldest female bear to reproduce in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Unlike the typical bear, Grizzly 399 regularly gives birth to triplets rather than twins. This typically has a paradoxical effect on the bear population. A mother bear with three cubs expends significantly more energy in caring for them, which can potentially decrease rather than increase the survival rate. Grizzly 399, conversely, has typically handled triplets well. One of her triplets grew to also be a prolific mother and was tagged for research as Grizzly 610. In 2011, Grizzly 610 had twins while Grizzly 399 had another set of triplets. The scientists observing the bears were concerned due to 399's advanced age, but to their surprise Grizzly 610 amicably adopted one of her mother's triplets.
One of 399's 2017 twins, numbered 964, relocated to Yellowstone in 2019. She was spotted with twins in 2023. 610's daughter, numbered 926, released a set of twins in 2023.
Grizzly 399 is known to be habituated to people when near roads and mildly developed areas. A researcher determined that she seeks these roadside areas over backcountry because it is safer for her cubs, where male bears often try to kill them.[17] The fact that she spends much time near roads has also contributed to her popularity. In 2011, the sight of a mother grizzly bear and her three cubs near a road in central Grand Teton National Park was enough to cause traffic to come to a halt in both directions for miles. Near Jackson Lake Lodge, just below it, in Willow Flats, Grizzly 399 taught each set of cubs to hunt elk calves. She did this where the guests of the lodge could see.
Grizzly 399 is usually found along the roadside near the Oxbow Bend of the Snake River. The number of photographers now following this grizzly has grown to maybe 40 or 50 as of 2015. "399 is considered the grand matriarch of the park’s roadside bears."
In 2016, Grizzly 399 was feared dead after a hunter claimed to have killed her. On May 10, 2016, 399 emerged from hibernation, with one cub in tow. She came forth from the Bridger-Teton National Forest into the Grand Teton National Park with a white-faced cub following at her side.[18] In 2017, Grizzly 399 was older than the age beyond which most brown bears usually breed. On May 16, 2017, she had two cubs following her in a spring snowstorm.[19]
Created in 2007 in response to the magnitude of visitors coming to Grand Teton to view Grizzly 399 and her cubs, the Grand Teton Wildlife Brigade keeps the animals and the people apart and unharmed. In 2011, ranger Kate Wilmot, whose official title is "bear management specialist", said that this year things have become "completely chaotic". The real duty is managing the behavior of the people. This was partly due to social media increasing the popularity of the bears, and drawing more people to want to interact with them.[20]
Wilmot directs 16 volunteers in the brigade throughout the summer until snowfall. If not for the brigaders, "wildlife watching would be a mess". The brigaders carry bear spray, but their primary role is to persuade tourists to respect the 100-yard viewing guideline established after incidents with Grizzly 610, 399's daughter.
Feeding the bears is illegal so the brigaders handle this issue too. It can cause bears to become habituated to people and aggressive. The brigaders remind tourists of their role in this part. Their success can be measured in the rarity of major incidents and bear removals. When bears become too habituated to human presence and aggressive in their pursuit of human food, or when a bear attacks a human, the "problem bear" is typically euthanized. Grizzly mothers are known for being aggressively protective of their progeny. In 2011, in Yellowstone National Park, a mother bear fatally mauled a hiker who got too close. Grizzly 610, 399's daughter, twice "charged" tourists who approached too closely. No injuries were reported.
In 2017, the United States Fish and Wildlife Services officials removed grizzly bears from the endangered species list and turned management of grizzlies outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks over to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.[21] Grizzlies live in ranges covering hundreds of miles, which can take them outside the parks, where they would be open to hunting.[22] Grizzly 399 dens outside of the parks.[23]
Hunters in the area would target 399 because she is the biggest and most famous trophy. Daryl Hunter, a wildlife photographer who follows Grizzly 399, related a conversation with an outfitter who said, "I met a guy who wants Grizzly 399's rug on his wall, stating that because she is famous, she makes a better trophy". Grizzly 399 spends part of the year in Grand Teton National Park, but also hibernates in the national forest where hunting is allowed.[24]
For the 2018 hunting season, Montana decided against a hunt. Idaho, with the fewest grizzlies, decided to allow hunting of only one bear. On May 23, 2018, the Wyoming wildlife commission voted unanimously to approve a grizzly bear hunt. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department let a vote decide the number of grizzlies to be killed. The tally came to 22 grizzlies in a unanimous vote of 7–0. The hunting season was planned for September 15 to November 15. This was to be the first authorized hunt in Wyoming in 44 years since they were first listed as endangered in 1975, at which time no hunting was allowed inside the national parks or the connecting road between them, and the grizzly population had fallen to around 136 individuals.[25]
Wyoming's planned hunt met with public outcry. Five women in Jackson Hole quickly organized "Shoot'em With A Camera-Not A Gun," which encouraged opponents of trophy hunting to join the tag lottery in hopes of preventing hunters from winning tags. Approximately 7,000 people applied for Wyoming bear tags, including wildlife photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen, Jane Goodall, and other conservationists.
In July 2018, Mangelsen learned he was positioned high enough on a hunting lottery to actually receive a hunting tag, slot number 8 in the queue. In September, just weeks before hunting season was to begin, a federal judge in Montana restored protection to all of the bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The judge ruled that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service officials were "arbitrary and capricious" when they removed protection from the bears under the Endangered Species Act.[26] In July 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Montana judge's ruling.[27]
In March 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended no change to the current listed status of the grizzly bear in the lower-48 states. They will continue to remain threatened under the ESA after the completion of a five-year status review.[28]
Grizzly 399: The Story of a Remarkable Bear is a children's book published in May 2020 in Idaho Falls.[29] The book is written by Sylvia M. Medina, illustrated by Morgan Spicer and includes photographs by American nature and wildlife photographer, Thomas D. Mangelsen.[30] The publisher published a subsequent book with the same author, illustrator and photographer in April 2021 to include Grizzly 399's new cubs, titled, "Grizzly 399's Hibernation Pandemonium" after the 24-year-old mother bear surprised the world with the birth of four more cubs in the spring of 2020.[31] [32]
Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek In 2015, Thomas D. Mangelsen collaborated with Wilkinson to create the book about Grizzly 399 and her progeny.[33] Mangelsen made it one of his priorities for over ten years to record her life, including her hibernation schedule, feeding, and mothering; he recorded the birth of three sets of triplets and a set of twins. His photographs, especially the one he dubbed, "An Icon of Motherhood", helped make her the most famous mother grizzly, maybe the most famous grizzly, in the world. Millions of people visit the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem just to see these grizzly bears.[34]
By 2015, Grizzly 399 was known to have acquired a full social media presence, although it is a mystery who is running the accounts. She has her own Facebook page, Instagram account, and a Twitter handle.[35] "These aren't just any bears", explains Thomas D. Mangelsen, a global wildlife photographer who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, "They might be the most famous grizzlies alive today on the planet. For all these people, catching a glimpse of them is the thrill of a lifetime." Mangelsen has been following her movements for over ten years. Grizzly 399 dispels the stereotype that all grizzlies are agents of terror, says Bozeman, Montana, author Todd Wilkinson. "She’s more well-behaved a lot of times than people around her," he said. "But she’s wild", he adds.[35]