Just last month, at long last, a well-known female grizzly bear named No. 399 emerged from her long hibernation at Grand Teton National Park. Walking beside her was a single, blond-faced cub, named Snowy by local bear watchers.
This was a big deal for a couple of reasons. First, she was alive, which proved the Wyoming hunter who had boasted of killing her months before had been bluffing. Second, this 20-year-old grizzly is, as a columnist for the Jackson Hole News and Guide put it, “the most famous living wild bear on Earth.” She is an adored “roadside bear” who’s super easy for tourists to spot, and even has a book and a Twitter account dedicated to her. Even a hiker mauled by her and her cubs back in 2007 pleaded for her life to be spared.
