Son of the world’s most famous grizzly bear killed in the Grand Teton National Park

One of the grizzly bears who belonged to a beloved grizzly family in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park was deadly struck by a vehicle, the park said on Tuesday, May 6.

The 5-year-old bear, known as Grizzly No. 1058, died in the same way that his mother, Grizzly No. 399, which was also killed in October 2024, did, the park said in one statement. From 2009 to 2024, deadly vehicle collisions killed 51 grizzly bears in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Gye).

It is unclear when no. 1058 was killed, but Park Rangers discovered his body about 125 meters from Highway 26 near Buffalo Fork River on Tuesday. Officials said he had probably died several days before his body was found.

Grizzly No. 1058 was identified by earmarks and a passive integrated transponder microchip. His remains were put back on the landscape of the Grand Teton National Park.

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No. 1058 was one of No. 399’s four kids. The four kids were first discovered with his mother in May 2020. Since then he had sometimes seen in the park since he was weaned in 2022. He was not discovered this spring.

Björn’s mother was about 28 years old when she was killed and was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Hilary Cooley, Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for US Fish and Wildlife Service, said earlier.

She was loved by tourists, biologists and animal photographers, with a book, Grizzly 399: The world’s most famous mama beara PBS Nature Episode and several Social media sides devoted to her.

“Grizzly Bear 399 may have been the most prominent ambassador for the species,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. “She has inspired countless visitors to conservation administration around the world and will be missing.”