Grizzly 399 Spotting

It’s always a big thrill to see wildlife when visiting national parks and such, but sometimes it’s something exceptionally special.

We arrived at Grand Teton on May 5 just as many of the campgrounds were starting to open, Spring was thinking about showing up, the wildlife was on the move and bears were just coming out of their winter hibernation. On the next day we took a long drive through the park to get the lay of the land. Awe inspiring is probably the only word I have to describe the beauty (I’ll blog more extensively about our Teton trip later). Equally inspiring as the natural beauty is the wildlife… and we saw plenty of it on this first day journey.

When we arrived to the park on the 5th with the RV, about 7 miles from our campground we had to navigate through dozens of cars parked on the side of the narrow road with people scattered all over. Many of them had their professional cameras, while others were simply gathering in what looked like a big social event. We discovered later that these folks, many of them professional wildlife photographers, were there to try and get a glimpse of a bear, but not just any bear, Grizzly 399.

Now when it come to bears one stands out among the rest. Grizzly 399 is known as the most famous bear in the world, she even has her own Facebook page. 399 was born in 1996 in the Teton’s, so she is now 26 years old. This alone makes her special because many bear parish well before this, typically due to human intervention of some sort. What also makes 399 special is her history of rearing triplets, whereas most bear only have two cubs. Raising three cubs is especially strenuous on a mama bear, as she does this alone. I guess you could look at papa bear as somewhat of a deadbeat dad in this respect.

In 2020, when most of us were going into (COVID) hibernation, 399 was coming out of her long hibernation – with “four” new cubs. As you can imagine, her (and her cubs) celebrity status elevated considerably at this point. The family of five have been sought out regularly within the Teton’s but it is still a very rear occurrence to make a sighting.

As we where ending our long drive around the park on our first day and heading back to camp, we came upon the same spot in the road with the “paparazzi” and all their gear. So naturally we pulled over. It was the same scene, more of a social gathering then any real wildlife viewing. But then I noticed one individual, especially interested and with a keen look across the field. He kept moving backwards and checking his binoculars. Suddenly he waved to the others in the group to come down the road where he was standing. I exited the car and headed that way as well. There they were, Grizzly 399 and her 4 cubs on a small hillside. I could see them perfectly through my binoculars. One of the folks in the group let us use his telescope which was amazing! The five of them walked down the hill and into the small body of water and swam a ways before emerging over a bank further down. They crossed a big field and into an open prairie, the young (which are now almost full grown) often frolicky around in their natural playground. It was hard to leave.

Its always a rare and special occurrence to spot a bear in the wild, but this was a once in a lifetime experience. A mama bear with not two, not three but four cubs! The fact that they have all stayed together for two years and survived the human elements and the threat of attacks from male Grizzly’s. And very soon they won’t be together anymore since 399 will send her cubs off on their own as they are now adults.

The amazing Teton’s will be there to come back to another day, this unique experience will not. We are so fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time, and thank the folks who shared the experience, and their telescope, with us. Although we were able to see the bears well with our naked eye, we did not have the (NFL sideline) camera needed to get good pictures – but I don’t expect the memory to fade anytime soon.