For a while on Sunday, it seemed that the prayers of Grizzly 399’s fans had been answered, with social media posts declaring that her last cub, Spirit, had been found alive and that her identity was confirmed through DNA testing.
The story blew up online, but it was bogus.
Like many rumors that gain traction, this one was at least somewhat based in truth.
Wildlife researchers did, in fact, capture and examine a 2-year-old female grizzly in Teton National Park in June. And DNA samples were taken from that bear.
However, no DNA test results are yet available from the bear to confirm anything about its identity.
Even a DNA match with Grizzly 399 still wouldn’t confirm the female bear is Spirit, renowned wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen told Cowboy State Daily.
“(Grizzly) 399 has many offspring that would share her genes,” he said.
During her lifetime, Grizzly 399 had 18 cubs. Eight of them survived to adulthood, and some of those, including Grizzly 610, went on to have numerous cubs of their own.
Grizzly 399’s Legacy Captures Hearts
On Sunday, social media posts declaring that Spirit had been officially identified through DNA testing had many in Grizzly 399’s worldwide fanbase rejoicing.
The outpouring of joy was understandable. Grizzly 399 was Wyoming’s most famous and beloved bear, and Spirit was the last cub she had.
Mangelsen followed Grizzly 399 and her various cubs for years. His photographs were key in establishing her as the “Queen of the Tetons.”
A documentary movie bearing that title about Grizzly 399’s life was released in early 2024.
The movie centered on the period when Grizzly 399 was raising her unprecedented litter of quadruplets, which were born in 2020 and separated from their mother in 2022.
Grizzly 399 wasn’t done.
In May 2023, the bear-watching world was again overjoyed when she emerged from hibernation with a new cub.
Mangelsen dubbed the cub Spirit, and people were in awe of how quickly and huge it grew.
Observers surmised that Spirit was huge because the cub was probably a male. Plus, he didn’t have any littermates to compete with for mother’s milk and other food.
Hearts were broken in October 2024 when Grizzly 399 was struck and killed by a vehicle south of Jackson.
Sprit was reportedly with her at the time of the accident, and fled the scene unharmed.
Mangelsen said he thinks the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are partly to blame for Grizzly 399’s death.
It was know for at least 36 hours before the accident that Grizzly 399 and Spirit had been feeding on roadkill, but the agencies did nothing to protect the famous bears, he said.
There have been no verified sightings of Spirit since the accident.
Grizzly 399’s fans have held out hope that the cub survived. Fold said that after having had two summers to learn from his (or her) mother, Spirit was capable of finding a hibernation den and surviving the winter alone.
As spring 2025 gave way to summer — with no sign of Spirit — it was widely thought that it was time to give up on ever seeing Spirit again.
False Hopes
A spark of hope turned into a flame when it was unofficially announced that a grizzly research term confirmed that the bear officially dubbed “Grizzly 1148” was indeed Spirit — and a female.
That’s only partly true, Grand Teton National Park Spokeswoman Emily Davis told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
“During routine research capture operations in Grand Teton National Park, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) handled a 2-year-old female grizzly bear in June,” she aid.
“Following strict safety and animal care guidelines, biologists checked the bear’s body condition, collected DNA samples, and fitted her with a GPS-radio collar. The bear was assigned GB1148 (Grizzly 1148),” she said.
Going by the standard timeline, results from the bear’s DNA “will not be available for some time,” Davis added.
“Without DNA confirmation, we cannot say who this bear is related to, including whether it is an offspring of grizzly 399,” Davis said.
The IGBST captures, examines and takes samples from grizzlies to help guide conservation and management of grizzlies across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Davis added that a photo of a sedated bear being examined by biologists that ran with some social media posts declaring it to be Spirit also isn’t accurate.
It was “not a contemporary photo and is likely from many years ago,” she said.
Game and Fish large carnivore specialist Dan Thompson told Cowboy State Daily that his agency wasn’t directly involved with the capture and examination of Grizzly 1148.
However, he confirmed that “interesting rumblings” had reached his ears regarding the rumor that Grizzly 1148 is Spirit, though the rumors turned out to be false.
Questions Left Unanswered
Mangelsen said if DNA results reveal that the bear in question is related to Grizzly 399, then Grizzly 1148’s 2-year-old demographic could lend credence to the idea that she is, in fact, Spirit.
Confirmation of Grizzly 1148’s paternal roots would help too, he added.
“I would like to know who is the father? If it were Bruno, it would be more convincing,” he said.
Bruno is famous in his own right. He’s a super-sized boar (male grizzly) who was a frequent suitor of Grizzly 399 and thought to be the sire of many of her cubs, including Spirit.
Mangelsen confirmed that DNA testing on grizzlies can take considerable time. He recalled that years ago that it took two years for wildlife officials to confirm a DNA test on Brownie, another grizzly that he admired.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
