399 and her Cubs- Tom Mangelsen
“It’s really cool,” my wife Stacy, proclaimed.
“What’s really cool?” I asked curiously.
“That book you brought home the other day about grizzlies.”
Stacy was referring to Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek, An Intimate Portrait of 399, The Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone, the recently released collaboration between environmental author Todd Wilkinson and renowned photographer Tom Mangelsen.
The recovery of the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population and this population’s expansion into the southern reaches of our valley are conservation successes worthy of tremendous celebration.
Now, the question becomes: how do we build on this legacy of success and ensure the long-term sustainability of this population?
Through incomparable images, conversations with a veritable “who’s who” from the conservation world, and a compelling story, Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek both captivates and calls us to consider the many challenges confronting grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone.
From conflicts with hunters, livestock, and people; to debates over the status of the population size, the future of grizzly food sources, and the appropriate role of research; to the potential for the delisting of grizzlies from the Endangered Species Act resulting in state management and the possible hunting of bears; to how wildlife management agencies handle “problem” bears; the challenges are numerous.
The book uses the dramatic life of Grizzly 399 as a lens through which these complex and confusing issues become real, personal, and accessible. Even better, the book accomplishes this feat without feeling preachy. This is the magic of Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek.
If you’re interested in the future of Grizzlies in Jackson Hole, you don’t want to miss Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek.
Visit www.mangelsen.com/
