Grizzly Paparazzi: Photographers Shove Each Other Over Bears On Togwotee Pass

Over the past decade, Togwotee Pass between Dubois and Moran Junction has become a circus of wildlife paparazzi around grizzlies. Photographers crowd to within just a few yards of the bears, sometimes getting into shoving matches for prime positioning. Officials say the growing mob is a disaster waiting to happen—it could be only a matter of time before somebody gets mauled or a semitrailer plows into people too distracted to pay attention to traffic.

“There’s arguing, there’s threats,” said Daniel Muscatell of Jackson, a wildlife photographer who has given up on going to the pass. “I don’t want to go up there anymore with 100 to 200 people and 100 cars.” About three years ago, he was shoved by a photographer from a national publication. “He came over and shoved me,” Muscatell said. He worries about the welfare of the bears, noting that crowds along the shoulder make it difficult for bears to see oncoming traffic if they cross the road.

One of the crowd favorites is Grizzly 863, commonly known as Felicia. Wildlife tour guide Jeffrey Soulliere said the trouble on Togwotee Pass started about 10 years ago when Felicia gained fame on social media. “The bear would come walking out and 80 cars would show up,” he said. This spring, Felicia has been spotted with two new cubs.

Wyoming Department of Transportation spokesman Cody Beers said the agency has posted numerous signs discouraging people from pulling onto narrow shoulders or stopping in the middle of the highway. “There are lots of pullouts up there, but the bears are rarely at the pullouts,” he said. Beers recalled seeing “absolutely insane” behavior a few years ago: people getting 20 to 25 yards from bears and parking in the driving lane. “There are also boars up there that might be trying to kill cubs so that they can move in on the sows. That can create really dangerous situations for people.”

Wildlife photographer Sylvia Borgonovo said she has stopped going to Togwotee Pass. “I don’t want to be part of the problem,” she said. “I just want to leave the animals alone.” She recommends the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone for safe, controlled viewing. Wildlife photographer Deby Dixon said authorities have tried cracking down, but the scene remains chaotic. “There are some who drive there recklessly on purpose because they hate the bears and the people scene,” she said. “Some of it understandable and some of it is just being mean.”

Muscatell said the situation is a prime example of how competition for social media fame leads to dangerous behavior. “There’s the old group of photographers, and then there’s the new groups that don’t follow the rules,” he said. “They don’t care. Nobody cares. They just want to get their bear photos.”