The ‘World’s Most Famous Grizzly’ Was Killed by a Car. Was Her Death Preventable?

Over the course of her 28 years of life, Grizzly 399 became famous for many things: She raised 18 cubs, amassed more than 50,000 followers on social media and was nicknamed “Queen of the Tetons” in a PBS documentary centered around her.

But on the evening of October 22, Grizzly 399 was hit and killed by a car south of Grand Teton National Park, leaving behind a cub named Spirit. The iconic bear would attract thousands of visitors in the spring and summer, all hoping to catch a glimpse of what some called the world’s most famous grizzly.

Thomas D. Mangelsen, a nature photographer, first caught a glimpse of her almost 20 years ago near Moose, Wyoming. “I had never encountered an animal like her, and never will again,” says Mangelsen to National Geographic’s Todd Wilkinson. “She was that special.”

Officials say the crash was an accident, reports Billy Arnold for the Jackson Hole News & Guide—the driver was not speeding or distracted by a cellphone. “The bear stepped right out into the road,” John Stetzenbach of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office tells the publication. “He was unable to brake in time to avoid the bear, and the collision occurred.”

At the time of her death, 399 was with her yearling cub, a male that officials say was not struck by the car. Though the cub has reportedly not been seen since the accident, biologists say he has good odds for survival, since it is almost denning season and he is nearly to the age when he would have separated from his mother, anyway.

Today our community mourns the loss of wildlife icon, the Queen of the Tetons, grizzly #399.

In the winter of 2021/2022 we exhibited "While They’re Sleeping: A Story of Bears" with compelling images from wildlife photographer and conservationist Thomas G. Mangelsen. pic.twitter.com/2iHU9hZjxk

— National Museum of Wildlife Art (@WildlifeArtJH) October 23, 2024

The bear and her cubs were often spotted around busy highways and roads in the past. In fact, scientists thought that 399 might have chosen to raise her cubs close to humans to keep them safe from male bears or other predators. She was frequently the cause behind ‘bear jams’—congregations of spectators along the roads of Grand Teton National Park—as people flocked to catch a glimpse of her. In 2021, she was spotted strolling through downtown Jackson, Wyoming, with her cubs.

However, the bear’s familiarity with roads may have been a double-edged sword, says Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, to Sierra magazine’s Lindsey Botts. Grizzly bears can live up to 30 years, and although 399’s age was becoming obvious, her fans were still shaken to see her killed by a vehicle. “But that is always a grave possibility in a wild ecosystem where human pressures are growing daily,” Mangelsen tells National Geographic.

In Wyoming, where wildlife-vehicle collisions number 7,656 animals per year, some conservationists have suggested wildlife crossings—overpasses and underpasses that let animals safely traverse a road—could have prevented 399’s fate.

These collisions cost Wyoming an average of about $55 million per year, according to a report from the Nature Conservancy. Although the vast majority of these collisions are with deer, crossings could also help other animals, such as bears, advocates argue. Wildlife crossings have demonstrated their success in recent years. For instance, in Banff, Canada, highway fencing and crossings have reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 80 percent.

But creating these crossings can become expensive. This year, state agencies, nonprofits and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes are working to secure around $17 million in federal funding to cover these types of projects along Highway 26, the same road that 399 was hit on. And in California, construction crews have been building the world’s largest wildlife crossing, expected to open in 2026, in a $92 million effort. Conservationists say that although these projects are hefty up front, they can save money in the long run.

Future in-depth study of wildlife crossings could help biologists understand which types of crossings benefit which species, and how. For instance, grizzly bear males tend to use various wildlife crossing structures, including overpasses, “but females with cubs are particularly preferential of the overpasses,” Kylie Paul, a road ecologist at the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, tells Sierra magazine. “They tend to be more cautious, so it’s important to ensure there is an overpass or a significantly large underpass if you’re trying to support grizzly bear populations across a landscape bisected by highways.”

Wyoming was awarded more than $24 million for these projects last year as a result of the Wildlife Vehicle Collision Pilot Program, which aims to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions that cost the country more than $8 billion annually.

During her life, Grizzly 399 became an ambassador for the role that national parks play in protecting grizzly bears, writes Allison Michalski, Northern Rockies connectivity program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, in a statement.

“As the world’s most-photographed bear, Grizzly 399’s tragic death is also a stark reminder of the responsibility that humans have in making sure wildlife can safely move across large, connected landscapes,” Michalski writes.

Jack Bayles, co-owner of a wildlife tour company called Team 399 in Wyoming, hopes people learn from 399’s death. On Wednesday afternoon, a day after the accident, Bayles and his wife went to the highway where 399 died. Some people were driving well over the speed limit, he tells the New York Times’ Christine Peterson. He hopes people will now begin to slow down to protect wildlife.

“There will be other bears,” Bayles tells the New York Times, “but there will never be another 399.”

Alexa Robles-Gil | | READ MORE

Alexa Robles-Gil is a bilingual science journalist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Undark, Inside Climate News and more.