A vigil was held for Grizzly No. 399, Grand Teton’s beloved bear.

With nearly three decades of roaming the snowy wilderness of the Teton Range, Grizzly No. 399 has become the beloved mama bear of millions of park visitors following her annual adventures and ever-growing family tree.

Nature lovers are mourning the head of a world-famous bear family after she was struck and killed by a car on a highway in western Wyoming on Oct. 22. Dozens of people braved cold weather in the picturesque ski town of Jackson Saturday night to attend a candlelight vigil watched by about 1,300 people online.

Wildlife guide Beau Weldon told the crowd the community was going to “ping-pong” through the stages of grief, but that was exactly what they had to do despite the challenges.

“We’re terrible and crushed by this, but we’re here together,” Weldon said as participants huddled in the wet, cold rain.

A PBS documentary dubbed the 28-year-old grizzly the “Queen of the Tetons,” and an Instagram account dedicated to her has amassed more than 60,000 followers. She was known for frequenting tourist spots and roadsides in Grand Teton National Park and became an ambassador for her species and a symbol for people working to preserve American public lands.

Named for the tag researchers attached to her ear, No. 399 was the oldest known reproducing female grizzly bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. She is credited with helping the region’s large population recover from just over 100 people in the 1970s to about 1,000 today.

Over the years, she has had 18 known cubs in eight litters, and some have been seen having cubs of their own.

Her ashes were scattered last week in the Pilgrim Creek area of ​​Grand Teton National Park, where she spent most of her life, park officials said.

Jacob Crank, compere, described how he encountered number 399 when he first stopped by the park to check it out 13 years ago. Suddenly he saw on the road “this beautiful grizzly bear” with her two cubs. She was so close that he could hear her breathing and the scratching of her paws on the ground.

“She looked straight at me, straight in the eyes. It was such a profound experience,” he said. “It was like she was saying, ‘Welcome home.’ Where have you been all this time?

Crank said the ceremony took place in response to requests from the public. When No. 399 died, people began posting requests on social media and asking questions at Crank’s Mangelsen Nature Images gallery in Jackson, which features photographs by Thomas Mangelsen, one of the most famous bear photographers.

Those in attendance observed a moment of silence and listened to a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” while trying to keep the wind and rain from blowing out their candles.

Law enforcement officials called the bear’s death an accident. The driver did not speed and was not injured.