Oh my, the mayhem that ensues when a grizzly bear pokes its head out of the bushes in our National Parks!

Even in these corona times with lower visitation numbers, a famous grizzly bear like '399' causes traffic jams and people basically loosing their heads, just for the chance to get a glimpse of her.

Yesterday afternoon, along the main park road in Grand Teton National Park, someone spotted this grizzly bear, followed closely by her 4 cubs. Within a matter of minutes, all traffic was pulling over, parking on and off the road, people (many with children in tow) exiting their car and running into the vegetation in the direction where the bear was spotted ...

For the record: yes, people were running TOWARDS a grizzly bear sow with 4 cubs. Many carrying iPads and cell phones and getting closer and closer to the bears since, really, wildlife photographers carry a huge telephoto lens for several reasons. One being that it allows us to keep a safe distance from the wild animal and still get a good picture. No need to walk within 5 yards of a bison to get a frame-filling shot with your cell phone. (Yes, this also happened yesterday afternoon in the park as a flock of visitors thought it was OK to walk up to the wild bison for a picture ... but that story is for another day)

Park Rangers arrived on the scene shortly after with the seemingly impossible task to start corralling the visitors. Gentle persuading of some over-excited tourists ensued.

After all that mayhem, the bear walked out of the dense vegetation with her 4 cubs in tow, crossed the road in between the many cars and subsequently disappeared again. Thirty seconds of chaotic bear viewing.

Have you been in a wildlife jam in our national parks?
 

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