The Queen is Dead – Flathead Beacon

Yellowstone’s mother, Grizzly 399, died last week after being hit by a car in the Snake River Canyon. It was a sad end for a bear that had captivated wildlife fanatics around the world.

She was 28 years old and raised 18 young children. She was given the number 399 after being radio collared in 2001, when she was the 399th grizzly captured in the Greater Yellowstone region.

Twenty-eight years is an old bear, but 399 years defied age. When she emerged in front of a crowd of admirers with her young Spirit in the spring of 2023 at the age of 27, she became the oldest breeding grizzly in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

But her legend didn’t start there. Nearly 20 years ago, when 399 individuals began visiting areas near roads, behavioral biologists speculate it was to keep her young safe.

If given the opportunity, male grizzlies will kill their cubs so that the females can come into heat and the males can mate with them. However, males avoid areas along highways crowded with human admirers.

In 2020, the now famous 399 became a superstar when she returned from hibernation with four cubs. One cub is cute, but four are much cuter than one, just as the Grand Tetons are grander than a pile of recently dug up dirt on a construction site. Her superstar status was confirmed.

Spirit was probably 399 when she was killed. The cub does not appear to have been injured, but it may be mature and resilient enough to survive.

It is our nature, reinforced by the influence of Disney, to project all kinds of human characteristics onto wildlife. I read emotional stories this week about how 399 was a gentle, loving mother, a bear who could teach people a thing or two about humanity.

She was undoubtedly a skilled mother, probably the best grizzly bear mother ever. And grizzly bears are a species that reminds us more than a little of ourselves.

But the stories we tell about 399, like the collective grief that so many feel right now, may tell us more about ourselves than about the big bear. It’s important to remember that 399 was a grizzly, not a maniacal fairy bear, existing only to provide support and comfort to her many followers. In fact, she existed to protect her young and teach them to hunt, forage, and rule as top predators in one of the wildest places in North America.

Our attachment to her was understandable. Although I never joined the crowds waiting for her every spring, I enjoyed reading news about 399 and her cubs.

But all this admiration wasn’t always for the best. When I watched “Queen of the Tetons,” a nature documentary about 399 that premiered this spring, I was concerned to hear one of the biologists interviewed for the film say that of course 399 received special treatment. This quote was played on footage of Jackson police cars escorting a mother bear and her cub out of town.

It then occurred to me that 399’s death might not be as illustrious as her life. I recalled the story of Grizzly 168 – the oldest grizzly in Yellowstone – a 34-year-old male who weighed just 170 pounds when euthanized in 2021, with his few remaining teeth completely worn away. The calves 168 killed looked bruised, not bitten. The emaciated bear drowned them to death.

Some lament that 399’s death was caused by a car accident, but her strategy of raising young ones always came with risks. Wildlife authorities say she likely died instantly. Her death is certainly tragic, but I am glad she did not reach the age of 168.

Grizzly 399 was a unique bear. Her life is a testimony to the magic of the natural world. We cannot contain the sadness we feel over the queen’s death, but I am optimistic that a new queen will emerge soon to take her place.