A grizzly bear mom who became famous for showing off her cubs to tourists on the side of the road has just had her 17th cub.
Even though she is 24 years old, the wild grizzly living in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park still has cubs.
Grizzlies only live to be 26 years old in the wild, but that hasn’t stopped this amazing mother from having four cubs.
Even without considering how old the grizzly is, it is rare for a grizzly to have four cubs at once.
She became known as “Grizzly 399” because she and her family were often seen on the side of the road, which led to social media accounts being made in her name.
People think the “super-mom” learned to use the busy roads to stay away from male bears known to kill young bear cubs.
This method worked well for Grizzly 399, officially the most successful grizzly mother ever seen on record.
Kate and Adam Rice took these beautiful pictures. Adam said this about them:
“At her advanced age, we weren’t sure if she would have cubs again, let alone four, which is very rare.”
“When we heard she had four cubs, we were shocked. It seemed like she was trying to prove us wrong.”
Kate works as a photographer at the park, and she says she’s completely in love with bears.
“She often grazes in meadows near the road. This gives people a great chance to see a little bit of a wild bear’s life.”
“In national parks, female bears often raise their cubs near the roadside. This is because people are thought to protect them from dangers like male grizzlies who might try to eat the cubs.”
Grizzly 399 first made headlines in 2011 when she and her daughter, who was then five years old, started raising cubs in the same area.
The daughter took in one of 399’s cubs and raised it successfully, which is thought to be a first of its kind.