JACKSON (WNE) — A Grand Teton National Park visitor spotted a grizzly bear mother and two yearlings on Sunday, possibly the first sighting of the season.

The bears were seen in the Cunningham Cabin area, about six miles south of Moran, said Teton Park spokesperson Emily Davis.

The sighting is the first that the park is aware of, but Justin Schwabedissen, the park’s bear biologist, is working to figure out if it is indeed the first sighting of the season, Davis said.

Despite a warmer-than-average winter and low snowpack, grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have emerged on their normal schedule.

The first grizzly report in Yellowstone National Park was on March 9, six days earlier than last year and a few days later than in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Last year, a Teton Park employee had the park’s first confirmed grizzly sighting on March 19. Three more bear sightings, including the park’s first black bear, quickly followed.

“We’re right on track in the Grand Teton area for bear emergence,” Davis said.

Typically, male grizzlies emerge first, in March, and females with cubs emerge in April and early May, according to Bear Wise Jackson Hole. That said, it’s “not totally uncommon” for females to emerge this early, Davis said.

With bear season officially here, wildlife managers and advocates are encouraging humans to be on their best bear behavior. That includes securing attractants at residences and campsites, and taking precautions when in the backcountry, such as carrying bear spray, making noise and traveling in groups.

“Together, as a community, we have made tremendous progress,” Jackson Hole Bear Wise said in a press release. “Let’s keep up the great work.”