We killed off California's grizzly bears over a century ago. Can we resurrect them?
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Set us as preferred You really do see him everywhere.He’s there on your California driver’s license, on every state flag and on your UC Berkeley merch.You find him on the official state seal, and if you get nabbed speeding on the freeway, there he is, embroidered on the CHP officer’s uniform patch.If California ever printed its own money, he would be on it.He’s the California grizzly bear, and you see him pretty much everywhere, except alive and thriving in California.In the span of a single human lifetime — between the Gold Rush and Prohibition — we killed them all.
Killed them? More like we exterminated them.Shot them for fun and for fur.
Poisoned them for carrying off a farmer’s pigs or calves, or because they might try to do it.Trapped them to chain them up in an arena and gore them to death by a bull, to provide an afternoon’s entertainment.We have a lot to atone for.
And maybe that’s one reason that there’s talk of bringing the iconic bear back to the Golden State.More on that later.Los Angeles is a complex place.
Luckily, there's someone who can provide context, history and culture.By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which include arbitration and a class action waiver.
You agree that we and our third-party vendors may collect and use your information, including through cookies, pixels and similar technologies, for the purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy such as personalizing your experience and ads.The California grizzly is so important to our self-image that 180 years ago, we put one on the flag that evolved into the state flag.
The original 1846 “bear flag” banner was a thrown-together affair, a handmade one, perhaps a bit drunkenly assembled.It was banded on the bottom in red — maybe from a red petticoat or long johns, per the man who says he designed the flag, one Wi...