August 2023 - I had the good fortune of spending a day in the Grand Tetons outside of Jackson, Wyoming. The objective, given my limited amount of time, was to photography some moose in the Grand Teton National Park. With that in mind I was stationed along a trail leading to "moose pond" as the sun rose. Sure enough, before "shooting light" I could make out two moose cows grazing in the pond below me, but the tourists also started pouring into the area. The moose abandoned their buffet and headed into the willows. They were out of sight before I ever fired a single shutter shot. The crowd of tourists continued to grow and I felt the chance of photographing a moose at the location was quite remote, so headed out in search of a site with better potential.
Still thinking moose and given my location it seemed reasonable to head to Moose, Wyoming. Along the way I stopped to check out several vantage points along Beaver Creek to no avail. So on to Jackson I went to refuel both me and my vehicle.
With a full tank of gas and a sandwich in hand, I headed up to the Gros Ventre River. This river is known to be frequented by moose, so I would pull into various pull outs that provided viewing areas that I could glass in search of my subject. To my surprise, I first spotted a Grizzly with a cub, and without the typical "bear jam" that occurs with most bear sightings. I hid my camera from sight, so as not to alert any passers by, and headed in the direction of the bear and cub. For safety I stayed in visual contact with the bear and at a safe distance. I did not want to put any undue pressure on the animals.
I could see from a distance that the bear was turning toward the river. I knew of a crossing where I might be able to get ahead of her and the cub. Shortly after taking a position across the Gros Ventre River, the bear and cub appeared. I recognized the bear and cub as Grizzly 399 and her yearling cub Spirit. I had seen numerous images of them through the work of Thomas Mangelsen, famed wildlife photographer from Jackson, WY.
Mangelsen wrote "399 first appeared near Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park with her three cubs of the year in the summer of 2006. Who would’ve guessed Teton Park and millions of human lives around the world, including my own, would forever be changed. No wild animal in history has ever been so loved by so many and none has drawn such notoriety, attention, caring, and concern."
Near midnight on October 22, 2024, the most famous grizzly bear that had ever lived, Grizzly 399, was struck and killed 25 mile south of Jackson Wyoming in the Snake River Canyon. She was almost 29 years old.
I feel fortunate to have had such an intimate brush with fame. RIP 399!
Beautiful story
And pictures