Cheyenne, WY
AP
—

A famous grizzly bear beloved by countless tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton National Park for decades is dead after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.

Grizzly No. 399 died Tuesday evening on a highway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement Wednesday.

The bear was at least 28 years old and was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Every spring, nature lovers waited for her arrival from her den to see how many cubs she had given birth to during the winter.

Named after the identity tag that researchers stuck to her ear, she surprised everyone by reproducing into old age. Unlike many grizzlies, she was often spotted along roads in Grand Teton, drawing crowds and traffic jams. Scientists speculate that such behavior keeps male grizzly bears at bay so that they would not pose a threat to her cubs. Some believe that male grizzly bears kill cubs to put the mother into heat.

A one-year-old cub was with the bear when she was struck and while it was not believed to have been injured, the cub’s whereabouts were unknown, according to the statement.

The driver was uninjured. No further details about the crash were immediately released.

“Wildlife collisions and conflicts are unfortunate. We are grateful the driver is doing well and understand the community is saddened to hear of the death of grizzly bear 399,” Angi Bruce, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said in the statement.

News of the bear’s death spread quickly on a Facebook page that tracks the sow and other wildlife in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. Soon, more than 1,000 people posted comments calling her a queen, a legend and an ambassador for grizzly bears. They were heartbroken and devastated by her death, calling it a tragic loss. Many expressed concern for her cub.

Many consider the Yellowstone region’s grizzly bears a conservation success story. Although they remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, their numbers have increased as much as tenfold since the 1970s, to as many as 1,000 animals.

However, population growth has led to more encounters with people and livestock, with the bears often on the losing side. Hunters sometimes confuse grizzlies with black bears that they can legally hunt, or kill grizzlies in self-defense – and wildlife managers often kill grizzlies that prey on cattle and sheep.