The death of Grizzly 399 is reverberating as much as the sudden loss of any other beloved celebrity.
She’s being mourned by an adoring public, and also by the “devastated” wildlife officials who have for years observed and looked out for her and other animals in Grand Teton National Park.
Justin Schwabedissen is the bear biologist for Grand Teton park and has been there since 2011. When he got a phone call Wednesday morning with the news 399 had been hit by a car and killed Tuesday night on Highway 26/89, there was “an initial shock that it just happened,” he said.
Then he said he started thinking about the famous bear’s legacy and how “so many people around the world” loved her and “the impact that this bear had on so many.”
In a lot of ways, 399 became a symbol for Wyoming and the Grand Tetons. That Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins and Schwabedissen held a Wednesday afternoon press conference to talk about Grizzly 399’s death is an example of her status as not only popular, but important to the park.
“I remember one evening a woman who had just retired, she spent 30 years working on a factory floor in the Midwest and always dreamed of seeing a bear in the wild, and visiting Grand Teton and Yellowstone,” Schwabedissen said. “She was in tears that night from being able to have an opportunity to see her.”
Grizzly 399 also was a “tremendous success story” that will continue to be part of Grand Teton, he said.
“I think that’s what hits us today is not just her passing, but also thinking about what she meant to the visitors and the local residents and all the key staff,” he said.
What Happened?
While the officials from Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks wouldn’t say anything about the crash that killed 399, referring questions to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said the driver of the car wasn’t ticketed.
“It was not criminal,” sheriff’s Capt. Brian Andrews told Cowboy State Daily. “It was just one of those types of things, but it’s unfortunate because the bear was hit.”
What’s Her Legacy
While there’s an emotional attachment to Grizzly 399 that’s pulling on people now, her legacy will prove out in what wildlife observers have been able to learn from the prolific mamma bear.
Throughout her 28 years — old for a bear — she produced 18 known offspring and brought them around roadways and within the view and camera lenses of people.
Although she was in the park since 1996, Grizzly 399 really stepped into the national spotlight in 2011 when one of her three cubs of the year was chosen in a cub adoption event, Schwabedissen said.
Then she wowed the world again in 2020 during the pandemic by emerging from her den with four cubs.
And one final time, she surprised everyone in 2023 by showing up in the spring with what will be her last cub.
There’s no word on where Spirit is, officials have said. He wasn’t at the scene of crash by the time responders arrived.
Those offspring are now grown and having their own cuts, like Grizzly 610, one of 399’s cubs and now a celebrity in her own right, Schwabedissen said.
Out And About
One of the main reasons 399 became so popular is the rise of social media, and also that she wasn’t shy about being seen by people, Schwabedissen said.
“Because she was raising cubs in areas where she was pretty visible to visitors unlike many other bears in the ecosystem,” he said. “And because she was so visible to the public, it allowed a lot of people the chance to observe her in wild habitat.”
But make no mistake, “she was a wild bear,” he added.
That doesn’t make the death of 399 any easier to handle, Schwabedissen said.
“We’re devastated by the loss of this bear, but also looking forward that she inspires people,” he said. “That’s really her legacy, or what it should be.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
