Grizzly 399 and her 18-month-old cub, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
As I mentioned in my last post, Claudia and I had a great time watching and photographing the wildlife in the Tetons, and during a brief visit to Yellowstone. There’s so much wildlife in these parks, and the animals are relatively easy to see.
For us, the highlight was seeing the famous Grizzly 399 with her yearling cub, and Grizzly 1063 with her triplet cubs of the year – experiences we shared with our friends Charlotte Gibb and Chrissy Donadi, which made it even more fun.
We saw 399 and her huge yearling cub our first evening in the park, and again the next morning. This matriarch is now 28 years old, which is exceptionally old for a wild grizzly. She’s raised 18 cubs, including several sets of triplets, and one set of quintuplets born in 2020, when she was 26 years old. This bear’s age, visibility, and fecundity have made her perhaps the most famous bear in the world; she’s been the subject of two books, a PBS documentary, and has her own Facebook page.
Then we saw 1063 and her triplets the next afternoon. 1063’s tiny cubs were incredibly cute, playing and wrestling with each other as their mom foraged nearby.
These viewings were made along the roadside, and, as you’d expect, the presence of these bears created massive traffic jams. These bear jams were managed by members of the Teton “Wildlife Brigade,” volunteers trained by the park service to handle wildlife-created traffic snarls, and educate the public about wildlife and wildlife management in the park.
I thought these volunteers did a great job handling challenging situations – allowing people to view the bears at a safe distance, while giving the bears space to forage and do what bears do. Three times we watched these bear families cross the road, and each time members of the Wildlife Brigade had to corral viewers into their cars, and get them to move their cars out of the way so the bears could have a passageway.
Grizzly 399 and her 18-month-old cub crossing a road while photographers, tourists, and wildlife-management volunteers watch, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming. The two members of the Teton Wildlife Brigade, wearing yellow vests, are Cameron and Carol Faustman. After showing him this photo, Cameron and I exchanged emails, and I sent him a print of this image, while he gave me a copy of his self-published memoir titled Teton Summers – a really interesting read about their time as wildlife-management volunteers in the Tetons. They’re super-nice people, doing a great service in their volunteer summer jobs.
Of course having the bears approach the road was a perfect opportunity for photographs, since the bears were closer, and, in these instances, out in an open meadow, facing viewers. This made photographers reluctant to leave, and led to a somewhat comical dance, where photographers would obey orders, sort of, by backing away – but pausing frequently to turn around and snap photos of the bears. (Not that I did that! I’m just passing along an observation.)
In each instance, however, the Brigade was eventually able to clear a path for the bears, who safely crossed the road. It seemed to me that 399 knew the routine, and paused several times to forage, or pretend to forage, allowing time for the Brigade to clear a path for her and her cub.
While these bear sightings were special, we had many more great wildlife encounters, including watching a bull moose feeding in a pond, surrounded by beautiful green-and-blue reflections, and seeing a Barrow’s goldeneye mother and her brood of 15 ducklings in a beaver pond. And during our brief visit to Yellowstone we watched numerous young, “red-dog” bison calves frolicking – chasing each other, trying to mount each other, kicking up their heals, or running in circles to expend excess energy. (I’ll post Yellowstone photos a bit later.)
Although I primarily photograph landscapes these days, I started my career photographing wildlife, and these Teton and Yellowstone experiences make me think I should do more of it. Though I doubt I’ll ever make wildlife my main focus again, it’s super fun to photograph animals once in awhile.
— Michael Frye
P.S. You’ll find more photos below, but first there’s a video Claudia made with a young Uinta ground squirrel, a muskrat, a Barrow’s goldeneye mother and ducklings, a moose, and Grizzly 1063 with her triplet cubs:
Young Uinta ground squirrel, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
Barrow’s goldeneye mother and ducklings, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
Moose feeding in a pond, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
Grizzly 1063 and her triplet cubs, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
White pelican in the Snake River, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
White pelican taking flight, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
Red fox, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
River otter in the Snake River, Grand Teton NP, Wyoming
Related Posts: Teton Views; Wolf Memories
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He lives near Yosemite National Park in California, but travels extensively to photograph natural landscapes in the American West and throughout the world.
Michael uses light, weather, and design to make photographs that capture the mood of the landscape, and convey the beauty, power, and mystery of nature. His work has received numerous awards, and appeared in publications around the world. He’s the author and/or principal photographer of several books, including Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, and The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.
Michael loves to share his knowledge of photography through articles, books, workshops, online courses, and his blog. He’s taught over 200 workshops focused on landscape photography, night photography, digital image processing, and printing.
Great story… and I’m a bit jealous. I have not been back to Yellowstone since I was a kid! (Maybe I spend too much time in the Sierra?)
My grizzly encounters (which were fortunately not grisly encounters. sorry.) were in Alaska some years back when we shepherded a group of something like 20 middle and high school kids on a 1100 mile bike ride from Skagway to Anchorage. Yes, really.
There were no monitors. No vehicles to retreat to! We definitely keep out distance!
Well it’s about time you went back to Yellowstone, and the Tetons. Both great places. Did you even have bear spray on that Alaska trip?
Thank you for some great shots and story. I wasn’t able to view the video of the ground squirrel because of it privacy setting but if the shot of the young squirrel is anything to go by it must have be a lovely video. I think its time for me to start travelling again.
cheers
Denise
Not sure why you can’t view the video. The privacy setting means that it can only be viewed on this website, but since you’re here, you should be able to view it. You might try a different browser, or clearing your browser cache and cookies, then quitting and relaunching your browser. Here are instructions for clearing your cache and cookies for Safari and Chrome:
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Click on the three dots in the upper-right corner. Select More Tools > Clear Browsing Data. Check “Cookies and other site data,” and “Cached images and files.”
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These are wonderful wildlife shots. I was not so lucky. I only had one day in the Tetons and Yellowstone. I saw one bison and some deer. Disappointed as I was, I did come away with some beautiful landscape photos.
Thanks Sally! It’s hard to see much wildlife in one day! I hope you can stay longer next time.
Wonderful photos, and I love the video!
Thanks Lisa!
Enjoyed the critter video! The grizzlies in your pics/vid and others I’ve seen this month seem really fat for this time of the season. Maybe it’s just me. What did you and Claudia think?
Thanks Sylvia. I don’t have much prior experience to go by, so I can’t say whether the grizzlies seem fatter this year. To my inexperienced eye, I wouldn’t say either 399 or 1063 look particularly fat in my photos.
Great photos and video! I’m heading to the Tetons mid-September and then to Yosemite – 2 weeks total. Really hoping to see some grizzlies and moose in the Tetons!!! Any location suggestions for best chances of wildlife sightings in the Tetons? It’s been years since I’ve been there. Thank you.
Thanks Lisa! I don’t like to discuss specific locations in a public forum, but it’s pretty easy to figure out where 399 hangs out if you do a little research. Though I understand that grizzlies are harder to see in the Tetons in the fall, as they’re foraging for berries, not digging for grubs in open meadows as they are in June. As for moose, Gros Ventre campground, Moose Ponds, Willow Flats, Schwabacher Landing, and Blacktail Ponds Overlook are all likely areas I guess, but I don’t know their autumn habits.
Thanks… I understand
Beautiful photos and video! How fun! These are my favorite parks for the wildlife they protect and how relatively easy it is to observe! Not to mention the landscape!!!
Thank you Jennifer! They are wonderful places – two of my favorite parks for sure.
Wow—how wonderful! Great photos and a fantastic video! What gorgeous, beautiful, creatures, large and small. Thanks, Michael and Claudia. I’m glad you are both well and safe re the French Fire—close call!
Thanks so much Bob! Luckily the French Fire was never a serious threat to us.
Beautiful photos Michael. So glad you managed to see 399 and Spirit. I got lucky and captured some nice images of them playing when I was there for two weeks in May/June. It’s amazing how much wildlife you can see just from the side of the road. Add in the stunning landscapes and it’s truly a photographer’s paradise.
I also like how you can get all around the park more than once in a day. Much easier than Yellowstone. I’ll be there again this fall with plans to go again next spring and fall as well.
Thanks John, and I’m glad to hear that you got to see and photograph 399 and Spirit. It is easier to get around Grand Teton than Yellowstone. Yellowstone is a lot bigger, and there’s a lot to see there, but the main “attractions” are more spread out.