There She Is
Grand Teton National Park
I have been observing and photographing 399 for years. She is now 18 years old and is probably the most famous, known, photographed grizzly ever. She has borne many cubs, including triplets on two occasions, often in surprisingly close proximity to the roads where some have suspected she has preferred to raise her cubs to be safer from boars (male bears). Generally, grizzlies live only into their early 20s so there is a developing sense that encounters with 399 are now especially to be treasured. Her longevity is especially blessed, seeing how few of her many cubs have been able to avoid early deaths, whether from cars, the Park's stupid policy of allowing hunting inside its borders that has unsurprisingly spurred conflicts between grizzlies who now associate gunshots with food, highway traffic and the perils generally of life in a very rugged place where the winters can be awfully long. Here, 399 emerges through a dense willow thicket after sundown, pauses momentarily after checking on her two cubs, before heading down to the banks of the Snake River. Photo © copyright by Ed Fuhr.