Grizzlies of Yellowstone: Legends and Survival
“The grizzly bear represents the land’s grandeur and danger, the very soul of the wilderness”
The Grizzly. The Largest land carnivore in the lower 48. A formidable creature weighing up to 600 pounds and defending their space and offspring with intense ferocity. The grizzlies of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) are legendary. Keeping your distance is vital and carrying bear mace is mandatory. Grizzlies can be found throughout the GYE up through Montana and into Idaho. They are even going to be reintroduced to the North Cascades. During our week-long stay we saw 12 Grizzlies including 6 cubs. 2 of the bears we saw in Grand Teton National Park. Most of the bears we saw were sows, which have been given nicknames (rangers dont give them names to ensure they do not get attached and to keep it scientific). Like the wolves, the grizzlies we saw were mostly in the northern parts of the park between Norris and mammoth hot springs. There were two sows, Beryl and Obsidian each had cubs. Beryl had two cubs and Obsidian had 3! Both sets of grizzlies were pretty routine coming out into the meadows along the road almost daily which provide great opportunities for shooting. There was a big male at Tower Junction across from the ranger station and two more bears were seen near junction butte.
Cub stopping for a scratch
The last two Grizzlies we saw were in GTNP. We went to GTNP for one bear in particular: 399. 399 is the world's most famous grizzly. At 28 years old, she’s the oldest known wild grizzly. She’s helped grow the population in Grand Teton by 18 cubs in her life including her current cub nicknamed Spirit. We saw her early in the morning on a hill across from the Grand Teton Lodge in the Willow Flats area of the park. As she moved up the hill Spirit was always close by learning from his mom, The Queen of the Tetons. She moved out of sight and I counted my blessings that I was able to catch just a glimpse, but she came back into view one more time and gave me one of my favorite shots of the trip. At the top of the hill she checked her surroundings and stood up to get a better look. A moment I will never forget.
Grizzly 399 checks her surroundings
The GYE is home to some 700 grizzlies. The bears are protected by federal law as a vulnerable species under the Endangered Species Act. Like the wolves, the states that Grizzlies call home wish to keep their numbers “maintained.” The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) briefly removed the bears from the endangered species list which resulted in Wyoming planning for a fall hunting season to cull the state's Grizzly population. This ended up being in violation of federal law due to the bears protected status under the endangered species act. Score one for the bears.
The bears face an uphill battle though. Climate change, loss of habitat, and an increased popularity in the national parks all put immense pressure on the bears of the GYE. The GYE attracts more than 7.5 million visitors a year thats up more than 1 million visitors in the last ten years. The sows of yellowstone have learned that sticking close to the roads helps keep their cubs protected from big boars as the boars try to stay away from humans. This is great for the humans, as we get to see the cubs and mothers graze the fields along the roads. This is a complex issue though because bears that are habituated to humans end up in trouble or worse dead. A fed bear is a dead bear. Close proximity to the roads can cause bear jams (traffic jams). Bear jams are a regular occurrence and create havoc for the rangers. Dozens of cars end up parked along the park's narrow roads, hundreds of people end up standing and crossing the busy road just to catch a glimpse. The influx of vehicles increases the risk of the bears being hit by cars. The large number of people increase the risk of a mauling. The first Sunday of our stay in Yellowstone a man was mauled in GTNP. He was hiking and accidentally ended up between a sow and her cubs. The mauling took only a few minutes but left the man badly wounded. What saved his life was protecting his neck while holding his bear mace. As she tried to bite the man's neck she bit his bear mace instead leaving her with a mouth full of pepper spray which scared her off. These kinds of incidents are weaponized by both sides of the debate. Just like the wolf, Grizzlies are vital to the GYE ecosystem and a major economic benefit to the area, visitors spent almost $1 billion in 2023 in the cities near the parks.
