The Gift of the Grizzly

Thomas D. Mangelsen is one of the most prolific and widely celebrated nature photographers of our time and an international hero for making Grizzly 399 famous and for advocating to protect grizzlies. His photographs document the bears’ resurgence as they have been listed and delisted under the Endangered Species Act. This fall the conservation community championed Tom when he was randomly drawn from 7,000 applicants as #8 of the 22 hunters awarded a license to kill a grizzly bear in Wyoming. Of course he wasn't going to use his tag to kill one, but instead use it to photograph, potentially saving a bear or two of the estimated 700 in the region. The hunt was called off at the last minute, but as Tom will tell you, the metamorphosis of the Great Bear is far from over.