The story of Scarface — a big, elderly male Yellowstone Grizzly that was shot by a hunter in 2015 — bears testament to the staying power of Wyoming wildlife’s celebrity status.
The Cowboy State has its share of famous critters. At the top of the heap, of course, is the world’s most beloved bear, Grizzly 399. She and her huge cub Spirit just emerged from hibernation.
And three decades later, people still marvel at the sheer size of Popeye, Morty and Goliath, Wyoming’s prize mule deer bucks.
And even Limpy the Coyote, who tries to sucker tourists for snacks in Yellowstone National Park, is vying for a spot among wildlife royalty.
But during his tenure in Yellowstone, Scarface gained his own loyal following, and photos of him posted on social media still create a buzz. Many in the comments sections lament over how shameful it was for the tough old guy to die the way he did.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated Scarface’s shooting, and the hunter’s claim of self-defense apparently held up, as the hunter was never cited in connection with the bear’s death.
To this day, Scarface fan Connie Jeffcoat of South Carolina said she doesn’t buy the story that the big bear threatened the hunter.
“He always seemed very gentle to me. The story just didn’t seem to make sense to me,” she said.
He Died An Old Bear
Scarface was officially known as Grizzly 211. Grizzly researchers assign numbers to some of the bears they study.
“Bear numbers are assigned in consecutive order as they are captured throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, but only to bears that are handled and radio-collared as research captures or conflict captures,” supervisory research wildlife biologist Frank van Manen previously told Cowboy State Daily.
He heads the U.S. Geological Survey’s Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, which monitors and studies grizzlies throughout the Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, as well as the surrounding wildlands in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
However, the public is free to give popular animals unofficial names or titles.
Scarface got his name because he showed up with wounds on his face (presumably battle scars from tangling with other grizzlies) around 2000.
He was captured and collared numerous times by researchers and was a highly visible bear, frequently spotted by tourists near roadsides and trails.
He also lived to a ripe old age. He was estimated to be around 25 when he was killed. Grizzlies rarely make it to their 30s (Grizzly 399 is 28).
Yellowstone's famous grizzly Scarface, in a trio of photos from Getty Images and the National Park Service. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Connie Jeffcoat of South Carolina is a frequent visitor to Yellowstone National Park and was a huge fan of a grizzly called Scarface. She took these photos of him in the spring of 2015. He was shot by a hunter that fall. (Courtesy Connie Jeffcoat) 
Connie Jeffcoat of South Carolina is a frequent visitor to Yellowstone National Park and was a huge fan of a grizzly called Scarface. She took these photos of him in the spring of 2015. He was shot by a hunter that fall. (Courtesy Connie Jeffcoat)
‘Gently Grazing’
Jeffcoat has been visiting Yellowstone for nearly three decades. She initially came to see wolves, but it didn’t take long for her to become a Scarface fan.
“I’ve visited every year since 1995, except for one year when I went to Alaksa instead. And to be honest, I wish I would have gone to Yellowstone that year too,” she said.
“I was initially drawn to Yellowstone to see the wolves. But he (Scarface) would show up so frequently, you kind of got to know him in a way. I would like to know if any of his offspring are still out there,” Jeffcoat added.
She vividly recalls the last time she saw and photographed Scarface in the spring of 2015.
“I watched him for hours as he was peacefully grazing near the confluence of the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek,” she said.
Shots In The Dark
According to the USFWS, a hunter shot Grizzly 211 — which he initially thought was a female grizzly — in November 2015 just north of Yellowstone park.
The hunter was hiking back to camp in the dark when he encountered the bear at a distance of roughly 10 feet, in the beam of his headlamp.
He reported the shooting the next day. And per protocol whenever a grizzly is killed, game agents launched an investigation into whether the claim of self-defense was valid. Months later, they quietly closed the investigation. The hunter, whose name is redacted from reports, wasn’t cited or charged.
The maximum penalty for illegally shooting a grizzly is a year in jail and a $50,000 fine.
There was widespread outrage when Scarface’s death was first reported. And it flared up again in 2017 when numerous people, including Jeffcoat, finally got USFWS reports on the incident after filing Freedom of Information Act requests with the agency.
In the copy of the report Jeffcoat shared with Cowboy State Daily, the hunter described his encounter with Scarface as sudden and terrifying.
“All of a sudden, I don’t know if I heard her, or just looked, or somehow, she was just right there. And close enough that she made noise, growled, and I saw her well enough and that’s time to sling lead. It didn’t take too long to figure out what the hell was going on,” the hunter is quoted as saying in the report.
The hunter hit Scarface with two shots from a .30-378 Weatherby magnum, according to the report.
Scarface’s devoted fans still doubt the official narrative and describe the shooting as unjustified and illegal.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
