When Snow, one of Yellowstone National Park’s favorite grizzlies, took a stroll down a dark, winding highway on the east side of the park late Sunday, her fans sprang into action and formed an impromptu motorcade escort for her.
With a vehicle in front of her and others behind, both flashing their hazard lights, Snow ambled down the road for roughly a mile.
She eventually peeled off and headed into the trees.
Preventing Another Bear Tragedy
Wildlife watchers and photographers who were there when it became apparent that Snow was headed for the highway knew they had to do something to prevent a potential tragedy, Sarah Coleman told Cowboy State Daily.
“Nobody wants to see another 399. Nobody wants to see that at all,” Coleman said.
Wyoming’s most famous bear, Grizzly 399, “the Queen of the Tetons,” was struck and killed by a vehicle south of Jackson in October 2024. Vehicle collisions are a common cause of death for both grizzlies and black bears in Wyoming.
There wasn’t much time for planning when Snow stepped onto the asphalt.
“Right then, there was a lot of 'You going here, and I’ll go there,' kind of thing” to protect the bear, Coleman said.
Yellowstone Bear Royalty
Snow is thought to have been born in 2015 to Raspberry, another well-known Yellowstone grizzly. She is described by her fans as “the 399 of Yellowstone" because of her high visibility and popularity with tourists and on social media.
Raspberry hasn’t been seen in well over a year and is presumed dead.
Snow has inherited her mother’s status as one of the park’s famous grizzlies, along with her younger sibling Jam, a female born in 2020.
Snow is thought to have mated this summer with a well-known male called Quill, so there’s hope she could emerge with a cub or two next spring.
Pitch Black Night
Vince Botkin is a frequent visitor to Yellowstone. He was more than happy to join what he described to Cowboy State Daily as “a well-coordinated escort” for Snow, involving at least a half-dozen people.
He took up a position behind Snow in his truck.
“There were a lot of cars piling up behind me,” he said.
Conditions were terrible for a bear to be on the road, particularly on a curvy section, where people like to drive at a good clip, Bodkin said.
It was a moonless night with cloud cover. So, essentially, Snow would have been in pitch blackness had it not been for flashlights and vehicle lights, he said.
People on both ends of the road told the escort to tell other motorists about the grizzly in the road, he said.
A few decided to pass him in hopes of getting photos.
“Everybody did really good. People passed slowly and were respectful about getting pictures of her,” he said.
The Bears Are Back
The bear viewing in Yellowstone was slow in the late summer until just recently, Botkin said.
Along about August, many grizzlies head up mountainsides, all the way up above timberline.
There, they gorge on protein and fat-laded army cutworm moths. The moths migrate rom the plains and take shelter under alpine rocks.
The bears flip the rocks and slurp up as many moths as they can.
By this time of year, the moths have moved on, and the bears start venturing down to lower altitudes, seeking other food sources to pile on fat before winter.
Botkin said that Snow, Jam, and numerous other bears have become highly visible again.
That’s great for admiring and taking photos of bears, but it also increases worry over them straying onto the highways, he said.
‘Make Sure She Was Safe’
Wildlife photographer Julie Argyle drove the lead vehicle in Snow’s escort.
“We just wanted to make sure she was safe,” Argyle told Cowboy State Daily.
“There are some of us who care about these animals greatly,” she added.
Despite it being past peak tourist season, Yellowstone is still full of visitors, and so chances are high Snow could have been hit wandering through the curves unescorted at night, she said.
‘Bootylicious’
Coleman trained a flashlight on Snow for additional illumination and also waved the light to alert approaching drivers.
“I spend about 15 minutes jumping up and down with a flashlight,” she said.
As for Snow, she’s looking great, Coleman said.
Bears this time of year are in a state of constant hunting called hyperphagia, during which they can consume 20,000 calories per day.
Snow’s been getting her fair share, judging by her “booty bouncing down the road in front of us,” Coleman said.
“She’s looking very bootylicious,” she added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
