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In this undated photo provided by Grand Teton National Park a grizzly bear known as No. 399 stands along side a cub. (C. Adams/Grand Teton National Park via AP)Read More
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FILE – Grizzly bear 399 and her four cubs feed on a deer carcass on Nov. 17, 2020, in southern Jackson Hole. (Ryan Dorgan/Jackson Hole News & Guide via AP, File)Read More
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FILE – Grizzly bear No. 399 and her four cubs cross a road as Cindy Campbell stops traffic in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Nov. 17, 2020. (Ryan Dorgan/Jackson Hole News & Guide via AP, File)Read More
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In this undated photo provided by Grand Teton National Park a grizzly bear known as No. 399 walks along side a cub. (C. Adams/Grand Teton National Park via AP)Read More
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In this undated photo provided by Grand Teton National Park a grizzly bear known as No. 399 walks along side a cub. (C. Adams/Grand Teton National Park via AP)Read More
By MEAD GRUVERUpdated 6:09 PM PDT, October 23, 2024Share
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A famous grizzly bear beloved for decades by countless tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton National Park is dead after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.
Grizzly No. 399 died Tuesday night on a highway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement Wednesday, adding the driver was unhurt. A yearling cub was with the grizzly when she was struck and though not believed to have been hurt, its whereabouts were unknown, according to the statement.
The circumstances of the crash were unclear. Grand Teton and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said they had no further information to release about it.
At 28 years old, No. 399 was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Each spring, wildlife enthusiasts eagerly awaited her emergence from her den to see how many cubs she had birthed over the winter — then quickly shared the news online.
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Named for the identity tag affixed by researchers to her ear, the grizzly amazed watchers by continuing to reproduce into old age. Unlike many grizzly bears, she was often seen near roads in Grand Teton, drawing crowds and traffic jams.
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