When I was little I had a chance encounter with a grizzly bear that told me they were not the maniacal killers portrayed in the films of the day. That stayed with me as life took me in myriad directions over the years.

Our first encounter with her was magical: In a bear jam up Pilgrim Creek in May 2016 where she came out of the woods with her new cub, Snowy. She locked eyes as she walked behind our vehicle across the road and back in to the trees, completely unbothered by her admirers. In that moment I found a thinking, feeling gentle being doing her best to raise her kids. I was completely smitten.

Over the following years we got to watch her raise 8 cubs, 7 of whom made it to independence. We got to watch her interact with her daughters over the years. From playing tag at Elk Ranch Flats with 610 and 610's two daughters, 924 and 926 in 2016 to visits from her daughter, 962, in June 2020, it was apparent that Grizzly 399 was the leader of a multigenerational matriarchy who ran Jackson Hole.

She was smart. At bear jams she would look for the park vehicles, the flashing lights and the coned brackets to cross the road. She knew where to find ripe berries to the day. This was problematic in September 2020 when she was reaching deep to feed her four cubs near the road east of Moran. We were out there with her most of the night on a number of occasions with a bear manager as she crossed the road repeatedly trying to find enough food. We were happy for the times we may have tipped the scale a bit in her favor.

Not near enough credit is given to the unsung heroes of the Wildlife Brigade, GTNP Wildlife Management and WGFD for the incredible amount of time and effort they put in to helping Grizzly 399 have as much life as she did.

In May 2022 we watched her disappear in to a stand of conifers on Lozier Hill the last few nights she had her four cubs. The afternoon after she started heading toward Pilgrim Creek to begin separating from her cubs her daughter, Grizzly 610, appeared from the same trees with three new cubs of her own. There had been 9 grizzly bears in that stand of trees all getting to know one another or reacquaint themselves.

We didn’t see her as much after that. We noticed that her daughter, Grizzly 610, spent more time at Pilgrim Creek in the following years. 399 was usually a touch distant. In their work, Track of the Grizzly, the Craigheads talk about older female bears expanding their range as they get older as well as ceding their range to their progeny. She was spending an increasing amount of time well south of Grand Teton National Park where she was hit and killed by a car on October 22, 2024.

After a life time spent toward the tip of the spear I found solace in being around her, atonement in the times we helped keep her out of harm’s way. Gina used to refer to her as “The Other Woman.” It was initially an inside joke but evolved in to as true as a sentiment as there ever was over time.

We know people who came from all over the world just to spend time with her, people who tell us that being able to follow the story of Grizzly 399 and her four helped them make it through the COVID year. Since 399’s passing other bears have risen and certainly more will in the future. But there will never be another her. She is irreplaceable.

This is the article I wrote for the Points West magazine for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West…