Author Gets Heat For Grizzly 399 Children's Book Put Out After Death Of Famous Bear

Former Cody resident Matthew Thomas swears he isn’t trying to profit from Grizzly 399’s death. Thomas said his children’s book about the Teton County bear was mostly finished by the time she was hit by a car and died in October. 

But that still hasn’t stopped many people from criticizing his book, saying he’s “sick” for trying to make a profit off the death of the world’s most famous bear.

“I’m not trying to capitalize on the death of the bear or anything like that,” Thomas said.

He does acknowledge 399 death’s in the book, writing, “Her life of royalty sadly came to a sudden end in a tragic accident.”

Thomas said he wrote “Queen Of The Tetons: The Legacy of 399” as a way to teach kids about the value of listening to their parents and trusting that the rules they make are there for a reason. It’s a lesson that Thomas said played a big role in his own life.

“Through the strictness and through the harshness you’ll find out it was actually done out of love,” he said. “There’s some morals in there about growing up and having a firm mother, but if you listen to your parents and the good outcomes that will come from it.”

He also promotes the care 399 gave to her cubs throughout her 28 years of life and the reasons for why she became so popular in society.

Grizzly 399 raised her cubs for more than two decades near the busy roadways in and around Grand Teton National Park as a way to protect them from other predators, most namely male grizzly bears that eat bear cubs that aren’t their own.

The book outlines how she earned the nickname “Queen of the Tetons” based on the motherly care and teaching she gave to her cubs.

There’s some sad irony in the fact that her close proximity to roads ultimately led to her death.

Thomas wants younger generations to become as familiar as adults are about 399 so that her legacy lives on for decades to come.

The 36-page book Thomas is self-publishing on Amazon features artificially generated images of 399 and her cubs. It goes on sale on Amazon on Wednesday and at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum gift shop in Cody. He hopes the book will get picked up around the state.

“I’m not trying to make a living off this book. I want it to be in Wyoming schools, I want to see it in Wyoming libraries, I want to see it in Wyoming gift shops, I want it to be a local book,” he said.

Personal Connection

Thomas drove past 399 and her cubs a number of times while working as a concessionaire at Grand Teton National Park. He recently moved to Arkansas because of a medical condition that requires him to live at a low elevation.

Thomas had always wanted to write a book and found that his medical condition finally gave him the free time he needed for the project. After doing some personal research and interviews with wildlife photographers about 399, he decided to make the bear the focus.

Grizzly 399 was beloved throughout the wildlife community and gained worldwide recognition for her frequent public sightings, often seen hunting, playing, crossing roads and resting with her cubs. She may be the most photographed bear in the world.

What struck him most significantly about the bear, Thomas said, was how much 399 reminded him of the way his own mother raised him and his six siblings.

Although he sometimes questioned her tough love, when he grew to be an adult, he appreciated it much more and realized everything she did was for his best interests and safety.

“She was strict, but she was a really good mom,” he said. “She really did that because she really loved her kids, not because she was a jerk or anything like that.”

AI Opens A New Opportunity

Thomas believes the advent of artificial intelligence could inspire more amateur children’s book authors like himself to publish books, knowing that they won’t have to pay an illustrator a hefty fee to get the images they want drawn in their book, and get to dictate exactly what the images will look like. 

“I hope it does honestly, because never in a million years I would’ve thought of doing this, and now I can’t wait to write my third book,” he said.

Thomas got the help of a family friend to tweak his AI-generated images of 399, as Amazon has certain pixelation guidelines for the books it publishes.

“They look almost now like a photograph more than an AI photo or an AI cartoon photo,” he said.

More To Come: A Moose

Thomas is already at work on his second children’s book, “Hoback The Mischievous Moose.”

Hoback is a huge and popular bull moose that lives in Grand Teton that some have referred to as “King of the Tetons.”

Like the 399 book, Thomas said this children’s book will also try to instill the value of keeping a distance from wildlife by telling the stories of specific animals that actually exist in Grand Teton.

This book is scheduled to be released in mid-winter.

It’s his long-term goal to feature all of the major animals of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks in a children’s book series.

Contact Leo Wolfson at leo@cowboystatedaily.com

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.