Grizzly 399 dies after being hit by a car south of Jackson

This story was updated Wednesday evening to reflect the sheriff's response and another photographer's perspective.

The famous grizzly bear 399 was struck and killed by a car in the Snake River Canyon south of Jackson on Highway 26 on Tuesday evening, October 22nd.

At 28 years old, she was the oldest known reproducing female in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Photos of the popular mother bear and her cubs went around the world.

“It's just really surreal,” said a local photographer, Sue Cedarholm, who took pictures of Grizzly Bear 399 for nearly 20 years. “She's an old bear and we knew her time was coming to an end, but you just hate it when it's related to a car accident.”

She urged people to remember Grizzly 399's legacy. She was the first female street bear in the Tetons and raised her many cubs in and around Grand Teton National Park.

“It brought so much attention to bears and grizzly bears,” Cedarholm said. “I think we need to remember how lucky we were to have her in our lives and what an amazing bear she was.”

399 inspired a career for Wilson native Syler Peralta-Ramos. Early one morning, before he could drive himself, 26-year-old Peralta-Ramos convinced his father to drive him to Grand Teton National Park. They were north of Pilgrim Creek when Peralta-Ramos saw them across the road: 399 with two yearlings.

“She was the first grizzly bear I ever saw. And the first grizzly bears I ever got to photograph,” Peralta-Ramos said. “The pictures were terrible, but I remember them clearly because it was a very special moment to see her and her cubs.”

Peralta-Ramos has since completed an apprenticeship with Tom Mangelsen, the region's most famous nature photographer, and currently works part-time in Mangelsen's editorial office. Recalling the words Mangelsen said in an interview years ago, Peralta-Ramos said 399 taught people what it means to live with wildlife.

“It redefined a species that had traditionally been very vilified,” he said, “and showed us that we have a lot more in common with them than I think a lot of people realize.”

399 will continue to be a symbol of man's relationship with the natural world, Peralta-Ramos said.

“Even though she’s gone, I don’t think this is the end of her story.”

Authorities confirmed her identity through an ear tag and microchip. According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, her one-year-old cub was with her, but its whereabouts are now unknown.

Lincoln County sheriff's deputies responded to a collision involving a Subaru, model not reported, around 10:30 Tuesday night after the bear crossed into the driver's path, according to a crash report. The driver was reported to be fine and was not being cited. The speed limit in this section is 55 miles per hour.

Lincoln County Sheriff's Capt. Brian Andrews said it was “unusual” for a grizzly to be struck in this section. He called it a “freak accident.”
It is the second grizzly death in a vehicle accident this year. On average, about three people die in car accidents each year in the GYE.

Highway 26, where 399 people died, is notorious for accidents involving wildlife. The state recently applied for funding to build wildlife crossings along this route.

Sophia Boyd-Fliegel and Melodie Edwards contributed to this story.