Grizzly 399 the World’s Most Famous Bear
Personal Message and Tribute to Grizzly 399 from Thomas D. Mangelsen
The loss of Grizzly 399 on October 30, 2024 has been a deeply emotional and symbolic moment for those who followed her remarkable life. Tom is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love and support for the world’s most beloved mother bear. In appreciation, he wanted to share a personal tribute letter expressing his thoughts and emotions during this time.
399’s Legacy
399 is the numeric name given to her by researchers with the famed Yellowstone Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team. She is the oldest documented grizzly bear to reproduce in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Her last yearling cub was born in 2023 when she was 27 years old.
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 over her lifetime. Only eight of 399’s cubs have reached adulthood.
Current Status: Deceased 1996-2024. One, surviving yearling cub, nicknamed Spirit, whereabouts unknown as of October 22, 2024. Given the bear’s age and the time of year, it has a strong chance of surviving on its own. We continue to hold hope in our hearts for the cub’s safety.
Famous Grizzly 399 through the lens.
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.
NATURE on PBS
Grizzly 399: Queen of the Tetons
Known only by her research number, Grizzly 399 has been a fixture in Grand Teton National Park since 2007, becoming the world’s most famous—and photographed—grizzly bear in the world. Now 399 is raising four new cubs in the face of human encroachment, a warming climate, and the threat of losing protection under the Endangered Species Act. Witness a riveting story full of twists and turns, hope and heartbreak in NATURE—Grizzly 399: Queen of the Tetons. Originally aired Wednesday, May 8 at 8/7c on PBS.
NATURE is an award-winning signature PBS series focusing on natural history and wildlife, showcasing documentaries and episodes that explore various aspects of the natural world. The program covers a wide range of topics, from animal behavior and habitats to environmental issues and conservation efforts.
399: Queen of the Tetons
Grizzly 399, the most famous bear in Grand Teton National Park, has an exceptional litter of four cubs to raise. Every day, the family must contend with threats to their survival, including a warming climate and human encroachment in bear country. Now the stakes are higher than ever as Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana seek to remove grizzlies from the endangered species list—which would make it legal to hunt them. In a riveting story full of twists and turns, hope and heartbreak, Grizzly 399 stands as a symbol of the clash between humans and the wild.
This feature-length documentary film is a collaboration with Lucky 8. It is a unique combination of Mangelsen’s extensive archive of photographs, videos, Todd Wilkinson’s writings, and interviews featuring numerous people who share a deep affection for 399.
Thank you for your support of 399: Queen of the Tetons and grizzly bear conservation. Stay tuned for updates and keep following @399film.
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
More: 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.”
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.
More: Mountain Journal
Essay by Todd Wilkinson. Foreword by Ted Turner.
Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek
The first book about the extraordinary life and death celebration of famous Grizzly 399. It has been called an essential story for understanding whether Greater Yellowstone grizzlies should be stripped of federal protections and subjected to trophy sport hunting. There’s never been another book like it.
Written by Todd Wilkinson. Foreword by Anderson Cooper.
Grizzly 399
Thomas D. Mangelsen presents a sequel to the award-winning book Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek. This book showcases a new body of images and an updated story capturing the last eight years of the famous mother bear. Her harrowing journey has changed the way tens of millions of people around the globe think of both grizzlies and conservation.
“Research doesn’t measure or account for a bear’s sentience. And to me, that’s what gives grizzlies their magic—and a kind soul.”
399’s Family Tree
Grizzly 399 was born in 1996
She has demonstrated the importance of a healthy female bear to the overall population. At least 24 bears are descended from her, both cubs and cubs of her cubs (i.e. grandchildren).
First set of triplets (2006)
Grizzly bears typically give birth to single or twin cubs, but 399 is not a typical bear. She has given birth to multiple sets of triplets and a set of quadruplets.
Second set of triplets (2011)
Always on a vigilant lookout, Grizzly 399 sniffs the breeze as she leads her cubs through a meadow of spring’s newly flowering biscuit root.
Third set of triplets (2013)
This famous bear has raised her broods by roadsides in view of groups of curious humans. “399’s popularity speaks to a yearning humans have to feel connected to wild nature. The fact that her life and death saga has played out in the backyard of the West makes it more special because Americans can see the benefit of safeguarding rare animals,” Mangelsen says.
Single cub (2016)
Grizzly 399 emerged from her den with a single cub in tow, vastly different from her previous three litters which were all triplets.
Twins (2018)
399 and her two cubs are busy foraging for food to fatten up as they prepare for their long winter slumber.
Quadruplets (2020)
Besides her prominence as a mother giving her offspring the skills to navigate a complicated world, she is a poster child for the value of wildlife conservation.
Single cub (2023)
Grizzly 399 emerged with Spirit walking among blooming balsamroot and biscuitroot mixed with a variety of purple larkspur, her silver-tipped fur glowing in the morning light
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.
Buy the book
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.
Famous Grizzly 399 through the lens.
“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.”