We did a scenic Sunday drive yesterday, hoping to see the "celebrity" grizzly bear with the unglamorous name of "399." She's mostly famous for successfully raising quadruplet cubs a couple of years ago, very unusual for the big bears.
399 is also known for being old and canny - she's in her mid-twenties - but still healthy. She has one cub this year and still looks to be in good shape. The other DrC has photos at her blog.
I write "looks" because grizzlies don't have annual check-ups. They are North America's (quite dangerous) apex predator, south of the permafrost. The polar bears rule up north, and the two species occasionally interbreed producing hybrid cubs that survive.
The grizzly is "apex predator" if you don't count us humans. By some standards we are the true apex predator anywhere on this planet's land surface.
Sadly, the celebrity bear didn't honor the "room" with her presence, at least while we were in her neighborhood which is the Pilgrim Creek area in GTNP between Jackson Lake Lodge and Colter Bay Village. Better luck next time.
Fun fact: Jackson Lake Lodge is where the Federal Reserve Bank system holds its annual summer meeting. The view from the Lodge's enormous lobby window is spectacular.
What we did see was a very snowy boutique mountain range, the Tetons. Pictured below is Mount Moran as seen from the Colter Bay region.
