I knew that this well-loved grizzly sow had shown up back in Grand Teton National Park with three tiny cubs in mid-May of 2022. I started seeing such adorable photos of her with her cubs and I couldn’t wait to get to the park in June and hopefully have a chance to photograph her.
I was incredibly thrilled when I drove down from Yellowstone and into the Tetons and almost immediately found a grizzly. Most photographers tend to recognize the different grizzlies in the park, yet on the first night I saw her, we were all trying to figure out who this beautiful sow was. The truth is, many of us recognized her already but it just didn't seem possible. She had been seen the day before with cubs and none of us would admit that it was her because it just didn't seem like she could have lost all her cubs. Yet, she had the small red ear tags and looked just like the sow known as “Blondie”. It would be a couple more days before photographers and park officials officially confirmed it was her and that her cubs were gone. She was last seen with her cubs the day before and it is assumed that a male grizzly in the area killed the cubs to try and mate with her.
I have a friend who photographed her the day the cubs disappeared and she said that she was acting distraught and confused. By the time I saw her the next evening, and then 2 mornings later when I took this shot, she was behaving normally and meandering through the fields eating flowers. However, she had not left the area where she lost her cubs and just kept following a bit of a pattern through all the wilderness there. Wildlife watchers who have seen my photos think she looks sad. They see grief in her eyes. I absolutely believe that animals grieve, but I am not sure that she was four days later when I captured this image. I think it is up to the viewer to interpret what they see - that is always the beauty with wildlife portraits - we can conclude for ourselves certain aspects of an image. As a mom, it is hard for me not to assume there is sadness in those eyes, but she also seemed perfectly content among the flowers on this sunny early morning. I am so thankful that I had this peaceful, early morning photographing her with only a few other photographers around. We all took photos of her from our cars on a small dirt road and she was not at all bothered that we were parked there. The first night I saw her, there were quite a few people around.
One of the many reasons I think it is so important to protect these endangered bears is that nature is extremely hard on them already without human interference. It is estimated that internationally about 35% of cubs are killed by boars. In the Tetons, other cubs and adult bears will be hit by cars, euthanized by park officials for getting into garbage, compost, or livestock feed, and killed by humans illegally. I am so thankful for every moment that I get to experience with these bears and hope that my images inspire others to care more about protecting our endangered species, especially the grizzly bear.
