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Meet Grizzly 399

399 is the numeric name given to her by researchers with the famed Yellowstone Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team.

Age: 28

Weight: nearly 400 pounds

Birthdate/place: Winter 1996 at den site in the wilds of Pilgrim Creek, Wyoming

Territory: Hundreds of square miles in Jackson Hole, including the Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Offspring: 18 cubs have been born since 2004.

Current Status: Cub of the year (COY), one.

 

The Matriarch - Grizzly 399 The Matriarch - Grizzly 399

How Mangelsen’s Relationship with 399 Began

Back in May 2006—Mangelsen caught his first glimpse of 399 when she and her youngsters, born underground the previous winter, were feasting on a moose carcass on the island shore of the Oxbow Bend of the Snake River.

“I saw her briefly in the evening just before dark,” he said. It was a fleeting encounter, but still extraordinary. She was there and then gone, vanishing into the black ether of night. He felt no connection and had no idea how profoundly this bear and her cubs would change his life, stealing his commitment to conservation. “It wasn’t until spring the following year that I spent any significant time getting to know her,” he said.
StanfordJournalism

The Guardian of the Matriarch: A wildlife photographer’s fight to protect the world’s most famous bear

Thomas D. Mangelsen’s personal and professional legacy is inseparable from his love of Grizzly 399. As one of the first people to set eyes on the bear 14 years before, he documented her life history as she pioneered the return of grizzlies to the southern reaches of the Greater Yellowstone. By Syler Peralta-Ramos/Peninsula Press

“I’ve been very blessed to spend all these years with Grizzly 399 and her offspring. Her existence is a magical experience for me and will not likely come again.”

Thomas D. Mangelsen
399: Portrait of a Legend399: Portrait of a Legend

Famous Jackson Hole Grizzly 399 Wows Again, But Now What?

Emerging with her 18th cub as part of a historic legendary life, 399 is 27, long in the tooth and still transforming our perceptions of grizzlies. Now it’s our turn to be on best behavior. By Todd Wilkinson.



Grizzly 399: The World’s Most Famous Mother BearWritten by Todd Wilkinson. Foreword by Anderson Cooper.

Grizzly 399: The World’s Most Famous Mother Bear

Thomas D. Mangelsen presents a sequel to the award-winning book Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek. This new book showcases a new body of images and an updated story capturing the last eight years of the famous mother bear.



Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek

Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek An Intimate Portrait of 399

Featuring over 150 captivating images by Thomas D. Mangelsen and a riveting narrative by American writer Todd Wilkinson, Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek is a compelling study of the most famous bears in the world and the threats they face. Grizzlies need us now more than ever.

In Search of Grizzly 399

In Search of Grizzly 399

Watch as Thomas D. Mangelsen takes to the air in search of Grizzly 399 in the Teton Wilderness. Two weeks later she and her tiny triplets make their first appearance near Pilgrim Creek in Grand Teton National Park.

The Queen’s Legacy - Grizzly 399

The Queen’s Legacy - Grizzly 399

Grizzly 399 became famous in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, as she raised three cubs near the roads of the park during the summers of 2006 and 2007, giving thousands the opportunity to observe the family in the wild. The spring of 2011, she again emerged with another set of triplets. Watch as the three new cubs play in a meadow of Grand Teton National Park under their mother’’s watchful eye.

“Maybe once in a lifetime an animal like this appears and her mere presence seems to galvanize everything. An icon of motherhood. An emblem of wildness. A sentient creature who has taught us new ways to think about others of her kind. 399 summons us together at a time when so much of the natural world is at loose ends and falling apart.”

Thomas D. Mangelsen

Will 399 survive? The world’s most famous grizzly in peril

Grizzly bear experts Louisa Willcox and David Mattson, get together with Tom Mangelsen to talk about not only the plight of 399 but also the plight of grizzlies throughout the Yellowstone ecosystem attempting to survive the threats posed by climate change.
Grizzly Times is a voice for imperiled grizzly bears in Yellowstone and their wild ecosystems in the Northern Rockies.



“I am proud that so many people, drawn to my images of 399, want to bring her and wild nature into their hearts.”

Thomas D. Mangelsen
Guardian of the Matriarch