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Hi everyone, it's Chris here. It's October 23rd,

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2024, and about 20 minutes ago I heard

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some very sad news, and I wanted to

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share it because it really hits home on

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so many levels. Bear

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399 was killed last night by

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a vehicle near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

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Very close to Grand Teton National Park,

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a place she called home, where

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she was known as the Queen. Bear

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399 was the most

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incredible grizzly bear, the

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oldest known reproducing female grizzly

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in the whole Greater Yellowstone

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ecosystem. She was 28, and

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it wasn't just her old age. A

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really old bear in the wild could

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reach 35, but it was

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the fact that she was still having cubs

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as a great-grandma. Over

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her lifetime, she had 18 cubs,

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and many of them went on to have

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families of their own. This is what we

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know so far from the US Fish and

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Wildlife Service. She was

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identified through ear tags and a

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microchip, and she did have a

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yearling cub with her. That's a cub that's about a year

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and a half old. The

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cub hasn't been found, but the search is on.

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The driver of the vehicle is thankfully okay.

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She was struck on a highway in the

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Snake River Canyon. Her name,

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399, came from

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the tag number researchers gave to her when

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she was first captured. Recently,

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we've told so many stories

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of national parks and roads,

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and how they affect wildlife of all kinds.

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It's no different for the mightiest of them

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all, even grizzly bears. Just

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over a week ago, I was in

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Yellowstone National Park with my producer

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Lucy Suchak. We drove through

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399's backyard, and we

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really thought of her. It was amazing

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to be there, knowing that she

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was around. We even

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have an interview lined up with my friend,

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the legendary photographer Tom Mangelskopf. who's tracked and

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photographed 399's life for nearly 20 years. I

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know he and so many

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others will be devastated by this news.

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We'll be talking to him later in the season about

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his special relationship with her. Now

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there's even more reason to have that

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conversation. 399 was famous, really famous. Crowds

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chased to roadsides just to get a

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glimpse of her whenever she showed up

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each year. News outlets reported on the

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number of cubs she emerged within the

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spring. She caused huge traffic jams. She

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had her own Facebook page. Even

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Jane Goodall followed her. She

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was a true and peaceful

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ambassador for grizzly bears everywhere. Just

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goes to show the difference one individual

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can make, even if you're a

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bear. Her legacy

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will live on forever in

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the grizzly bears that I hope

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will always wander the land that

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is still wild enough for them.

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Rest in peace, 399. Thank

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you for all the knowledge you

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brought to us from your world. There's

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a link to a short trailer for a PBS

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nature documentary on 399 in our

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episode notes if you'd like to see this

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incredible bear. Bye for now,

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take good care and I'll see you for the

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next episode.