On the morning of May 10 photographers in Grand Teton National Park sighted grizzly bear 399 for the first time in 2016. In tow was her latest cub, a white-faced cutie who quickly became a star roadside attraction. Said by many to be the world’s most famous grizzly, 399 habituates Pilgrim Creek near Moran and the Jackson Lake Dam where she has raised numerous offspring.
“I didn’t know I would stumble on her first emergence,” said photographer Leine Stikkel, who shot the photograph above. “She has allowed us to see a glimpse of the beauty and tragedy of her world.” In the image, the cub looks out wide-eyed at her new universe and the creatures and machines that occupy much of it. Sadly, the cub would be dead in 40 days, killed in a hit-and-run collision.
The story of the grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek is told in a book of that title by photographer Tom Mangelsen and writer Todd Wilkinson who are taking their story on the road — next at 6 p.m. July 11 at the Teton County Library. The two have been asked to present at several Wyoming towns and hope to do so this fall.
