[9][10] Several decades ago, grizzlies were assessed as being at risk of rapid extinction due to the rate at which the population was declining.

Protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 has resulted in a population rebound: there are now approximately 2,000 grizzly bears in the contiguous United States,[11] of which about half are estimated to live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

In 2018, monitoring of 399 via radio telemetry ceased, with the research continuing as she resided in an area where she was easily observable.

[15] In June of that year, Snowy was struck and killed by a car in Grand Teton National Park, an incident investigated as a potential hit-and-run accident.

[19] On May 16, 2023, Grizzly 399 emerged from hibernation and appeared in the area of Pilgrim Creek in Grand Teton National Park.

A mother bear with three cubs expends significantly more energy in caring for them, which can potentially decrease rather than increase the survival rate.

The scientists observing the bears were concerned due to 399's advanced age, but to their surprise Grizzly 610 amicably adopted one of her mother's triplet cubs.

A researcher determined that she sought out these roadside areas rather than backcountry because it was safer for her cubs, which male bears often attempted to kill.

In 2011, the sight of a mother grizzly bear and her three cubs near a road in central Grand Teton National Park was enough to cause traffic to come to a halt in both directions for miles.

In Willow Flats, Grizzly 399 taught each set of cubs to hunt elk calves, within view of the guests at Jackson Lake Lodge.

"[3] In 2016, Grizzly 399 was feared dead after a hunter claimed to have killed her; however, she emerged from hibernation on May 10, 2016, with one cub in tow.

[22] In 2017, now older than the age beyond which most brown bears usually breed, she was spotted in a spring snowstorm with two cubs following her.

[23][10] On the evening of October 22, 2024, Grizzly 399 was fatally struck by a vehicle on Highway 26/89 in Snake River Canyon, south of Jackson, Wyoming.

In 2011, ranger Kate Wilmot, whose official title is "bear management specialist", said that that year things had become "completely chaotic".

The brigaders carry bear spray, but their primary role is to persuade tourists to respect the 100-yard viewing guideline established after incidents with Grizzly 610, 399's daughter.

[25] Grizzlies live in ranges covering hundreds of miles, which can place them outside of parks, where they become the targets of hunters.

[27] Approximately 7,000 people applied for Wyoming bear tags, including wildlife photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen, Jane Goodall, and other conservationists.

[29] In September, just weeks before hunting season was to begin, a federal judge in Montana restored protection to all of the bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The judge ruled that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service officials were "arbitrary and capricious" when they removed protection from the bears under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Fish and Wildlife Service recommended no change to the protection status of the grizzly bear in the lower-48 states.

[18] "These aren't just any bears", explained Thomas D. Mangelsen, a global wildlife photographer who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, "They might be the most famous grizzlies alive today on the planet.