27-05-2025
Photos: 'Miracle' grizzly bear cub reappears again in Grand Teton National Park
By now, many have heard about Grizzly Bear 1063 losing two of her yearling triplets to an attack by a male grizzly bear earlier this month in Grand Teton National Park.
The carcasses were discovered by park staff on May 13 near Colter Bay. Both showed signs of predation by a larger bear.
If that weren't sad enough, the third cub was missing and presumed by many to be dead. But on May 15, Grizzly 1063 was spotted crossing a paved road with her lone-surviving cub. Many refer to the cub as 'Miracle.'
All of this was on my mind last week when I visited the park with my brother, and specifically after a park employee at Colter Bay informed us at a picnic site that a momma grizzly with a cub had recently been spotted nearby.
Thirty minutes later, as we drove from the bay toward the main highway, we encountered a traffic jam caused by a bear sighting in the trees. We caught just a glimpse of the bears as a ranger and bear-management team dispersed the crowd.
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The ranger blared a siren to drive both bears back into the trees because they were close to an employee housing complex and guest accommodations.
On a hunch, less than an hour later, we returned to the Colter Bay road and almost immediately, Grizzly 1063 and her cub emerged near our vehicle.
My brother slowly maneuvered the SUV to allow the bears to cross and I managed a single photo burst through my 400-millimeter lens before we saw several vehicles, following a park vehicle with flashing lights, speeding in our direction.
We drove on as the bears safely crossed and vanished into the forest before the park vehicle and bear paparazzi arrived.
Later, while looking at my photo sequence, I was delighted to see that the cub was almost fully hidden by momma bear at first, but slowly revealed in subsequent images.
Note that Grizzly 1063's hind legs appear thicker than they might otherwise appear in the top image, and that the tiniest portion of the cub's rump is visible.
In the next image, more of the cub's rump comes into view as momma bear leads the way across the road.
In each image, more of the cub is revealed, and when the cub is fully visible, viewers might note that the yearling bruin bears a striking resemblance to mom.
While these roadside encounters are thrilling and allow tourists to view some of the park's magnificent bears at close range, they're also bittersweet.
That's because some momma bears remain near roads, at times, to keep their cubs safe from aggressive male bears that typically avoid humans and vehicle traffic. (Male grizzly bears sometimes kill cubs as an expression of dominance or because momma bears without cubs can become more receptive to mating attempts.)
Sadly, roadside bears are vulnerable to vehicle strikes. As many wildlife aficionados know, the world-famous Grizzly 399, which produced 18 cubs in or near Grand Teton National Park throughout her life, was fatally struck by a vehicle outside the park last October.
In late April early May, one of Grizzly 399's male offspring, Grizzly 1058, was struck by a vehicle inside the park. She hobbled into a willow thicket and her body was discovered days later by National Park Service employees.
Here's hoping that Grizzly Bear 1063 and her miracle cub can avoid that kind of tragic ending.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 'Miracle' grizzly bear cub in Grand Teton reappears again, photos show
