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World famous grizzly bear fatally struck in Wyoming had yearling cub with her
A beloved grizzly bear known as an ambassador for her species was fatally struck on a highway in Wyoming, National Park Service officials said Wednesday.
Grizzly bear 399, who got her name through a research number assignment in 2001, had a yearling cub with her when she was hit on a highway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, authorities said. The cub’s whereabouts are unknown, but there’s no evidence to suggest that it was injured.
The driver is OK, officials said. While the circumstances of the fatal crash were not immediately clear, authorities said 49 grizzly bears died because of vehicle collisions between 2009 and 2023.
Grizzly bears generally live to be around 25, though some in the wild have lived for over 35 years, according to the Fish & Wildlife Service. Grizzly bear 399 was 28 when she was killed.
George Frey / Getty Images
Wildlife photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen previously described the bear as his muse.
“Her intelligence, her behavior, her beauty,” Mangelsen told “60 Minutes” in 2018. “The fact that she’s had all these offspring. There’s not many bears that I know of that’s had three sets of triplets.”
In 2020, she was spotted with four cubs.
Mangelsen is not alone in appreciating grizzly bear 399. People from around the world followed her for decades, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator Hilary Cooley.
“At 28 years old, she was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” Cooley said.
Her identity was confirmed through ear tags and a microchip.
Before 1800, there were an estimated 50,000 grizzly bears living throughout 18 western States, including Wyoming, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. By 1975, the population in the 48 contiguous states was reduced to between 700 to 800.
After decades of being listed as threatened in the lower 48 states under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the population has grown to at least 1,923 grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states.
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.