Heartbreak

October 23, 2024  •  Leave a Comment

I had a post ready to go but it'll wait until next week because very sad breaking news this evening makes photography feel unimportant.

Grizzly 399, our beloved Queen of Grand Teton National Park and an ambassador for her species, has died - and in a terrible way.

She was hit by a car and killed Tuesday night in the Snake River Canyon (south of Jackson). Her cub was with her at the time, but his whereabouts are currently unknown. He is now traumatized, afraid and alone.

Cubs stay with their mamas for two years. I don't see how he survives hibernation this winter without 399. This collision may end up taking the lives of not one, but two bears.

My heart is broken.

Neither 399 nor her cub deserved this.

Whether you live in this area or visit, I implore you to be careful after dark and especially at dawn and dusk, particularly in both national parks and the canyon. Drive for the conditions. This means actively scanning both sides of the road, and probably traveling UNDER the limit. Yes, it is tiring to drive this way, straining to try to see eyes and/or shapes near the roadway when there is little-to-no light, and it'll take a little longer to get to wherever you're going. But it is absolutely essential. I do not understand those who refuse to do this. 

[A sidenote to the powers that be: a nighttime speed limit of 55mph in the canyon is ludicrous. Do something about this, and then enforce it.]

399 was born in a den in the wilds of Pilgrim Creek 28 years ago and has delighted legions of people worldwide since then. She was a wonderful mother to 18 cubs. She co-existed peacefully with humans. 

The first time I visited Grand Teton National Park in 1997, 399 was an anonymous yearling. Who could have known then how impactful her life would be? How cherished she would become? How famous she'd be?

May she never be forgotten. A huge part of 399's legacy is how she changed the attitudes of so many toward grizzlies, and inspired a far-reaching community committed to their protection and to conservation stewardship in general. We can honor her by continuing to do everything we can to help the bears.

She was, and will always be, the Queen of the Tetons - but this is the end of an era.

That 399 was denied a peaceful death when it was rightfully her time is hard to accept; this violent and abrupt ending will forever haunt my memories of her.

Just a few more weeks and she and her cub would have been settled safely in their den for the winter.

How painfully tragic.

For me, Grand Teton National Park will never be the same.

From 2009-2023 there have been 49 grizzly bear mortalities due to vehicle collisions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The average number of mortalities due to vehicle collisions per year during that time period is 3.3. In 2024, including this incident, there have been two grizzly bear mortalities from vehicle strikes in the GYE. (park service data)

Slow down. Be vigilant.

Respect the animals who call the GYE home. 

 

Image credit: Thomas D. Mangelsen


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