Grizzly bear struck and killed by vehicle 399 south of Jackson

Grizzly bear 399 – a 28-year-old bear known to millions of people and an economic force that attracted countless tourists to Jackson Hole – died late Tuesday in a vehicle attack in the Snake River Canyon.

The matriarch, who raised her young on the side of the road in Grand Teton National Park for nearly two decades, was fatally struck and later identified using ear tags and a microchip, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The whereabouts of her only boy are unknown.

“At this time there is no evidence that the yearling was also involved in the incident, but the service is monitoring the area,” the federal agency said in a news release.

Grand Teton Park officials declined to provide further details about the crash during a news conference Wednesday, noting that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, for its part, provided scant details about the circumstances of the collision, although spokesman Joe Szuszwalak said he had heard that the vehicle involved in the collision was “totaled.” The speed limit on Highway 89 in the Snake River Canyon, which connects Jackson to Alpine, is 55 miles per hour.

There is no investigation into illegal activities related to the accident, Szuszwalak said. He said the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office led the response to the crash.

Although a Jackson-based Fish and Wildlife Service employee responded to the scene, the purpose of the visit was to look for the missing juvenile. There is no evidence that the year-old grizzly was involved in the crash or was in the area, Szuszwalak said.

Grizzly 399 first came to prominence in 2006 when she began frequenting roadside areas in northern Grand Teton National Park with a litter of three cubs. Over the next 18 years, she repeated the pattern every three springs, reemerging with a new group of young. She once raised four cubs – an exceptional rarity – and gave birth to a single boy in 2023 at the age of 27. This makes her the oldest living female grizzly with a cub in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She gave birth to a total of 18 known cubs in the years following her own birth in 1996, according to Justin Schwabedissen, a Grand Teton bear biologist.

“The grizzly bear is an iconic species that helps make the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem exceptional,” Chip Jenkins, superintendent of Grand Teton National Park, said in a statement. “Grizzly bear 399 was perhaps the species' most prominent ambassador. She inspired countless visitors to support conservation around the world, and we will miss her.”

“She changed my life”

Many wildlife photographers and nature lovers, particularly Jackson Hole resident Tom Managelsen, enjoyed the grizzly sow's sometimes daily displays.

“She changed my life,” Mangelsen said Wednesday afternoon. “I've always been an advocate for black bears, cougars, wolves and everything else, but she made it a lot warmer because I felt like I knew her.”

“I learned a lot from their behavior,” Mangelsen added. “She changed my entire perspective on bears and made me want to protect them because I saw what a sentient, emotional animal she was.”

In addition to her reproductive success and remarkable life history, the bear had certain habits that helped increase her attractiveness, Schwabedissen said.

“399 became so famous over the years because she raised her young in areas where she was highly visible to visitors,” he said. “It gave a lot of people the opportunity to see them in the wild.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Schwabedissen recalled the countless days of his 13 years in the national park watching 399 and their cubs – and watching people experience the transformative power of seeing bears in the wild.

“I think that's what strikes us today, not just her death but what she meant to visitors and residents and to our teams and all the staff who gave so much to her wellbeing here at the park. “The nature and long-term success of the bear population,” he said.

The grizzly sow and her offspring also helped inspire a number of “bear-like” protocols around Jackson Hole, he said, from electric fences around chicken coops to safe storage of food and trash.

Worldwide fame

Grizzly 399 endured trials and tribulations and heartbreak – and their loyal fan club followed it all. In recent years, her life became increasingly stressful as she frequently visited areas outside of Grand Teton National Park.

The legendary sow survived incidents that often doom bears, such as targeted feeding, in part because state and federal wildlife managers gave her special treatment in recognition of her global fame.

“People around the world have been tracking grizzly bear number 399 for several decades,” said Hilary Cooley, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “At 28 years old, she was the oldest known reproducing grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.”

Grizzly 399 was the mother of eight litters over the years and was known for drawing incredible crowds. People came to the park – even from other countries – just to see her.

“She touched hearts in every corner of the world, and that's because of the people I stood on the side of the road with,” Jackson Hole resident Cindy Cambell told WyoFile in 2023. “I talked to people and “Tears roll down their faces when they are minutes away from having to run to catch a plane to Portugal, Spain, China or Australia.”

The death of bear 399, an ambassador for grizzly bears, marks another particularly deadly year for her species in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She was the 66th known grizzly bear to die in the region in 2024.

According to Grand Teton National Park, an average of 3.3 grizzly bears are struck and killed by vehicles in the ecosystem each year.

“Collisions and conflicts involving wildlife vehicles are unfortunate,” said Angi Bruce, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “We are grateful that the driver is OK and understand that the community is saddened to hear that grizzly bear 399 has died.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, share it and contribute to WyoFile. Our work is funded by readers like you, committed to unbiased journalism that works for you, not the algorithms.