Grizzly 399 and Her Four Cubs
In May 2020, we saw photos of Grizzly 399 emerging from hibernation with FOUR cubs in Grand Teton National Park. At the age of 24, Grizzly 399, is one of the oldest grizzly bears in the world. Not only is it a miracle to see the matriarch of Grand Teton National Park survive another winter, but there have only been eight grizzly litters of quadruplets documented in the Yellowstone ecosystem since 1983.
After seeing photos of Grizzly 399 emerge with four cubs, we knew we had to go and photograph this once in a lifetime opportunity. We booked a small cabin from mid-August until early October in Jackson, WY to work remotely and photograph in the mornings, evenings, and weekends. Although Grizzly 399 went unseen for roughly 6 weeks during July and early August, we were hoping, praying, that maybe we would be lucky enough to spot Grizzly 399 and her four cubs in late August. On our first day photographing in Grand Teton National Park, we spotted Grizzly 399 and her cubs and spent six hours photographing them!
Grizzly 399 Location
We heard rumors that Grizzly 399 was last seen earlier in the week around Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park. After talking with the park rangers, and looking on Twitter, there seemed to be some photos of Mom and her four cubs around Oxbow Bend and Jackson Lake Dam. On our first day, driving in to Grand Teton National Park, we headed straight to Oxbow Bend and noticed several park rangers and “do not stop” signs set up. We didn’t think much about it, though, as there weren’t very many other tourists and there were no bears in sight. We parked along the side of the road and walked towards the park rangers to ask what was going on, and as we were walking, the cubs walked over the roadway!
Being out of our car, and some of the only park visitors in the area, we were able to capture some close up shots of the cubs. The cubs wandered around Oxbow Bend’s main parking lot, curiously looking at the people, and then down to the water to cool off. As the bears moved around, the park rangers asked everyone to please get back in their vehicles for safety.
We spent the next six hours driving back and forth along Highway 191 between Oxbow Bend and Jackson Lake Dam as Grizzly 399 and her four cubs crossed the road several times in front of us
Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton National Park
Grizzly 399 and Her Four Cubs Photos
Our first sighting of the bears was closest to the Oxbow Bend main parking pullout when Grizzly 399’s cubs jumped out of the brush onto the road headed towards Snake River. As the park rangers pushed everyone back, Grizzly 399 followed her cubs across the road and all of the bears walked on the small trails between the road and the water.
The cubs stood on their hind legs looking curiously at all of the people on the roadway amazed to see Grizzly 399’s litter of four. While the park rangers cautiously tried to get a view of mom, we were lucky enough to snap a few photos of these incredibly cute cubs.
After walking along the water’s edge, all of the bears jumped into the river to cool off. As they swam off shore, the cubs jumped on each other playing in the water.
After swimming for ~10 minutes, the bears came back to shore but the park rangers lost visual as they walked through the brush. For the safety of all the visitors, they cleared the area and asked everyone to get into their cars to leave.
Over the next six hours, we drove back and forth along Highway 191 and watched Grizzly 399 and her four cubs cross the road several times. We were lucky enough to get TWO front row views of the cubs crossing directly in front of our car.
One of the road crossings, Grizzly 399 walked 10 feet from our car, followed by her cubs as they made their way back to Snake River.
As they headed back down to the river, we were able to capture a few photos of the cubs playing on the sandbanks as the majestic Grizzly 399 stood guard over her babies.
As we continued driving back and forth along Oxbow Bend, we saw Grizzly 610, one of Grizzly 399’s previous daughters who now has two cubs of her own, higher up eating berries. What a treat to see these incredible bears in their natural habitat.
At one point, Grizzly 610 wandered down to the roadway and stood on her hind legs, looking curiously at all of the cars and people she was entertaining.
Throughout the afternoon, Grizzly 399 and her cubs crossed the road several more times as they slowly moved North, away from Oxbow. Each time they crossed Highway 191, all of the cars would stop as everyone photographed the bears playing in the road and eating berries in the brush. Towards the evening, they wandered down to the water for a quick drink.
In the late afternoon, we posted up near the bend on Oxbow next to several photographers including Tom Mangelson! What an honor to stand next to one of the most iconic nature photographers of all time. As the sun began to set, we overheard someone’s radio stating that 399 and her cubs had just crossed the Jackson Lake Junction headed into Willow Flats. We jumped in our car and headed 5 minutes to the junction, but the bears were hidden in the brush as they continued to make their way North.
What an incredible first day in Grand Teton National Park. It had been our dream to see Grizzly 399 and her four cubs this year and we were blessed to have seen them for an entire afternoon on our first day! Although the skies are filled with wildfire smoke creating a haze over the mountains, we could not be happier with the incredible sights The Tetons have offered us.
