From a December 2024 communication of mine:
The most personally impactful event of 2024 was October’s sudden death, by vehicle collision, of the grizzly bear known by her
wildlife management number, 399. Otherwise known as the “Queen of the Tetons” (the
mountain range where she lived), many times throughout the nearly two decades
after I first saw her and her cubs going about their bear lives, she graced us
with her fleeting appearances. She came to represent so much: she was a
creature of the wild that navigated her existence, and that of her many offspring,
adjacent to human habitation without untenable conflicts. She was the epitome
of protective and nurturing “mother bears” in the way she cared for her young. She
brought awareness to her kind and other magnificent wildlife, unknowingly promoting
tolerance and protections for top-of-the-food-chain predators everywhere. And
she was simply a wonderfully beautiful thing to see. Her millions of followers
knew that one spring in the not-too-distant future, this unusually long-lived
bear would not emerge from her winter den, as would be the gentle, natural way.
No one imagined this undue course of events would end her 28-year reign. I’m so
grateful May’s (2024) visit to the Tetons allowed me that one last, precious glimpse
and photo of her and her yearling cub. Within seconds they disappeared into the
forest, for the last time, for me.
Additional details: On the night of October 22, 399 and her solo yearling cub were wandering far outside the borders of Grand Teton National Park when they stepped onto highway 26/89 and 399 was killed. The driver, who stopped and reported the incident immediately, was not impaired nor speeding or otherwise creating a dangerous situation, and was not charged. They had, however, seen the cub, known variously as "Rowdy" and "Spirit," at the time of the accident before the it disappeared back into the woods. As of May 2026, there have been no confirmed
sightings of the cub and its fate without its mother to see it
through its second and third hibernation seasons, is unknown.
