Nature, man…
One particular female grizzly bear in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park is some what of a big deal.
Popular with tourists, “Bear 399” is arguably the most famous grizzly bear in the world.
Grizzly 399 was born in 1996, and according to Outdoor Life she was given her name/number by the Yellowstone Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team who has monitored her closely for the duration of her life.
She is 7-feet tall, weighs 400-pounds and has given birth to 16 cubs over the years. Though she has spent most of her life in close proximity to tourist activity, the bear has never had a negative run in with humans.
Rafael Sandoval was recently exploring Grand Teton National Park when he captured an absolutely awe inspiring sequence of photos of Bear 399 hunting down an elk calf to feed her own cubs.
The pictures were originally shared by wildlife photographer Rafael Sandoval of Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures (give him a follow).
“So this just happened last night and my heart is still racing… This grizzly sow #399 bagged an elk calf for a dinner for five after an intense chase.
For the past few months, bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have been browsing on nutrient dense vegetation such as grasses, flowers and roots.
However, as prey species like elk, bison and deer begin dropping calves like it’s going out of style, the bears have begun to switch over to more savory menu options. The CALFeteria is open, folks!”
CALFeteria?
Savage…
Even though it’s only an elk calf, the raw power and speed of the grizzly is on full display. Grizzlies are capable of reaching speeds of 35 mph, which is terrifyingly fast when you think about it.
In one photo the bears long sharp claws are clearly visible as it closes in and overwhelms the baby elk.
The fact that the mama bear had 4 cubs in tow to feed somehow makes the little elk’s demise less sad.
Once the elk was on the ground, those baby bears jumped on that thing like drunk people on a 2AM pizza.
Elk Slams Right Into A Moving Car At Yellowstone National Park
Matt Fluke of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was looking for a place to picnic with his family when the car behind him got smoked by an elk. Boom, right into the side of their SUV.
Of course there is nothing special about hitting an elk with your car, just about anybody that’s every heard a country song has a deer a time or two. But this elk wasn’t just crossing the road, it was running for its life.
Yep, right after it slammed into the car and knocked itself out, a black wolf emerged from the trees, just seconds behind it.
“I didn’t look at my dashcam video until I got back to where we were staying at. Originally I thought it happened behind that car. We pulled over for a second and saw the elk on the road and the wolf with it.”
Naturally, they pulled over to watch nature take its course.
Wanna catch an elk? Just chase it into a moving car… chase is over.
“There was a turn out real close and lots of other cars stopping around there. You could see it from where we were at and the car that was behind me pulled over and then pulled out and went down the road… it was wild.”
Wild indeed.
