One of Grizzly 399’s cubs has been killed by a car in Grand Teton National Park. The world-famous mama bear died the same way last fall.
According to the park, rangers found her 5-year-old male offspring, Grizzly 1058, on May 6 along Highway 26 east of the Buffalo Fork River near Togwotee Pass.
“The investigation indicated the bear was hit by a vehicle and made it to a patch of willows about 125 yards from the road where it succumbed to its injuries,” a press release from the park said. “The bear may have been deceased for several days.”
The release also said that the bear appeared to be in good condition for his age and the time of year, and his remains were put back onto the landscape in Grand Teton National Park.
Grizzly 1058 was one of four cubs that emerged with 399 in May 2020.
“GB1058 had occasionally been observed in the park since he was weaned in 2022, but no confirmed sightings of him this spring had been reported," the park said.
The announcement was met with an outpouring of grief from conservationists and Jackson-based photographers, including Savannah Rose.
“Rest in peace 1058, son of 399, my favorite of the quads,” Rose wrote in an Instagram post. “You were so full of life and independence. Cut down before your time like your mother, struck by a vehicle. 399, I am so sorry we failed you again. We need to do better. All I can hope is the remaining two quads live long healthy lives in the wilderness.”
This is the second bear from the mama bear’s 2020 litter of four to be killed. The Wyoming Game & Fish Department euthanized another in 2022 after the bear got into human food. Cars have also hit several of her other offspring.
Grizzly 1058’s death comes after a record year for grizzly bear deaths in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In 2024, 65 grizzlies died, largely at the hands of humans, according to a federal database. Just last month, a Montana hunter shot and killed a female grizzly after it charged him.
Bear Wise Jackson Hole has been reminding residents to carry bear spray when hiking and properly store food as bears become more active. Grand Teton is telling drivers to obey the speed limit and slow down, especially at dusk and dawn.
Grizzly bears are still protected under the Endangered Species Act, though vehicle deaths are often seen as accidents.
The Trump administration has signaled it wants to delist the bears, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is still accepting comments until May 16 on a proposal to maintain federal protections.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
