This world is full of super mothers but this amazing bear is truly a remarkable one. Meet Grizzly 399, an outstanding wild grizzly bear who went viral after giving birth to a litter of four cubs successfully despite her old age. This astonishing mama is now one of the most famous bears worldwide, she has her own Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts and even makes it to Wikipedia.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
Born in 1996, Grizzly 399 was already 24 years old when she delivered her 17th cub at Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming not so long ago. Since grizzly bear sows living in the wild mostly live up to 26 years of age, Grizzly 399’s age could be considered to be unbelievable for a new mom, and the fact that she delivered four cubs at once itself is also impressive enough since bears in general only have two or three cubs on average.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
Talking about their dear friend, Grand Teton National Park’s photographers Kate and Adam Rice expressed pure admiration after the great news. The couple from Minnesota had been living full time in their van at the park to get as close to the wildlife there as possible.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
“We weren’t sure if she would have cubs again in her advanced age, let alone four, which is extremely rare,” said Adam. “We were shocked when we heard the news that she had four cubs, it seemed like her way of proving us wrong.”
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
Being home to 750 grizzly bears, Grand Teton National Park was definitely not a perfectly safe place for any female bear to raise their offspring peacefully as they must be really careful with all the males who often attack youngsters around. But this smart mama had her own awesome way to avoid all the threats: she usually wandered around certain areas that were popular with tourists in order to get help whenever she needed some.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
Needless to say, her tactic worked like magic and it even made Grizzly 399 one of the most successful grizzly parents that ever been reported in history. However, according to Kate Rice, Grizzly 399 was still a wild animal and shouldn’t be approached despite her attempt to be near people to protect her baby. Tourists who wanted to visit this adorable family should watch them from afar instead.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
“’She often grazes in meadows near the road, which provides an excellent opportunity for people to get a little glimpse into the life of a wild bear,” she said.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
In fact, this fantastic being was already famous many years ago when she and her five-year-old daughter, Grizzly 610 raised their cubs together back in 2011. Grizzly 610 even adopted one of her siblings to care for as her own cub to help lighten the burden of her mother 399.
Image credits: Splitpics UK | Kate and Adam Rice
Update: The super mom and her brood seem to be perfectly fine one year later. Look at them go!
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