She lived to 28, roaming the Yellowstone area with her many offspring while becoming a favorite among both residents and visitors.
Grizzly bear 399, one of the best known bears in the world and the oldest recorded reproducing female grizzly in the greater Yellowstone area, was struck by a car and died Tuesday south of Jackson, Wyo. She was 28.
Nicknamed “399,” she was adored by millions as she lumbered along busy roadsides, often with her cubs in tow. Photographers and tourists flocked to see her each spring and summer, and her portraits appeared on the covers of books and hung in fine art galleries. More than 55,000 people follow an Instagram account created for her, and a PBS documentary called her the “Queen of the Tetons.”
“She was very much an accidental ambassador for her species, and what a great ambassador she was,” said Jack Bayles, co-owner of a Jackson-based wildlife tour company called Team 399.
But the factors that brought fame to 399 also placed her in frequent contact with humanity, ultimately putting her at grave risk. She perished after a summer of near-record grizzly bear deaths in the Yellowstone region.
“She didn’t deserve to go out like this,” Mr. Bayles said.
Grizzly bears were once hunted, trapped and poisoned to near extinction in the Lower 48 states. Researchers now estimate more than 1,000 of the animals roam the Yellowstone region, a vast area that covers portions of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The animals have yo-yoed on and off the endangered species list in the last couple of decades.
Some conservation advocates argue the species still requires federal protections because of threats that include food scarcity caused by climate change and human-caused deaths like the one that befell 399. Many wildlife managers, particularly in western states, argue not only that bear numbers have recovered, but also that grizzly hunting should be allowed.