Is there any false advertising quite so beloved as the California state flag? Emblazoned across the banner, a grizzly bear confidently strides across bountiful pastures lit by a single red star. Yet, you’re not likely to find any red stars above the Golden State. And in Southern California, pastoral green expanses are pretty rare, too. And, unless you’re visiting the zoo, you can rest assured you won’t see any grizzly bears in California. In fact, you’d have a better chance of finding Bigfoot. But this wasn’t always the case. And, if a growing collection of researchers, tribal leaders, and citizens have their say, it might not stay the case. Could the return of California grizzly bears be in our future?
The End of the California Grizzly Bears
Experts believe that around 10,000 grizzly bears once roamed across California, enjoying salmon and seal carcasses to their heart’s content. But by 1848, prospectors were descending on the state’s wild and sun-kissed hills with gold in their hearts. Needless to say, when humans and grizzlies collided in the wild, the results weren’t pretty. By the end of the gold rush years, human tolerance of grizzly bears was at a low. California grizzly bears were typically shot on sight… at least by the settlers who could get a shot off quickly enough.
Even the might of grizzly bears wasn’t enough to overcome advancements in firearms and the loss of habitat. In 1916, a fruit farmer fatally shot the last known grizzly bear in Southern California in Sunland, just to the north of Los Angeles proper. And the last known sighting of a grizzly bear in the state as a whole was in 1924 in Sequoia National Park. For over a century, we’ve accepted that California grizzly bears are a thing of the distant past, even if our flag celebrates them. But we may have an opportunity to change that.
The Potential Future of Grizzly Bears in California
So who looked at those perfectly murderous claws and impeccably predatory teeth and thought, “California needs some more of that”? The report that’s moving the conversation from “could we” to “should we reintegrate grizzly bears in California” was conducted by a team of policy experts and researchers headed by Dr. Peter Alagona of the University of California, Santa Barbara. It’s a report that continues decades of insightful research courtesy of the California Grizzly Alliance and the California Grizzly Research Network. We can’t speak for them, but we’d venture that the organizations’ names indicate they’d like to see grizzly bears in California once again someday.
The report is complex, carefully scrutinizing the importance of grizzly bears in California state history, culture, ecology, and even their relationship with humans. But the ultimate conclusion is what’s leaving people talking. The peer-reviewed report found that “there are no insurmountable biological, ecological, economic, legal, or policy” challenges barring the reintegration of grizzly bears into the California wilds. In short: if we pop a thousand grizzlies in California forests with a well-planned system of reintroduction, they’re probably going to do just fine.
Area tribal leaders have also expressed support for the return of California grizzly bears. The bear is revered in Native American cultures, holding sacred meaning for tribes across the state. And if you think a coalition of tribal leaders, researchers, and wildlife enthusiasts doesn’t have numbers on its side, the California Grizzly Research Network claimed in 2019 that two-thirds of California residents supported the reintroduction of grizzly bears, with a mere 14 percent in opposition. Of course, the numbers would likely look dramatically different if the question appeared on a ballot.
Why Would Anyone Want to Reintroduce Grizzlies to California?
California Grizzly Alliance has made it clear that they believe that California grizzly bears are a missing piece of the state’s complex ecosystem. But grizzly populations have been struggling across the country. It’s estimated that a mere 1,923 grizzlies live in the contiguous 48 United States. However, there are likely around 30,000 roaming in Alaska.
Efforts to bolster grizzly numbers in the contiguous U.S. have not been enough to guarantee a long-term future for the species. Nor have they been enough to make any meaningful strides toward a sustainable grizzly population south of the Canadian border. If we were to carefully establish a population of grizzly bears in California, it could significantly increase the chances of a self-reliant grizzly bear population in the contiguous U.S. But is that enough reason for the average Californian?
At one time, it may have been. In 1933, former business mogul J. Dale Gentry became San Bernardino’s fish and game warden. One of his most memorable achievements was the introduction of black bears to the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains. The reason? He didn’t think the forests were wild enough. And that was really all there was to it. No major pushback… at least none that was successful. Rangers at Yosemite were looking forward to ridding themselves of a specific group of ornery black bears that had been terrorizing campers, and Gentry happily accepted 28 of them. Southern California’s current black bear population is descended from that rowdy gang.
Is the California Grizzly Actually Extinct?
But 1933 was a long time ago and not far removed from the final days of the California grizzly bears. Could a reintroduction of grizzlies actually work in modern times? And would it be worth the risks? The first issue is the longstanding belief that California grizzly bears were a subspecies distinctly different from surviving grizzly populations across the continent.
If the California grizzly is extinct, will grizzlies taken from Wyoming or British Columbia really help our ecosystem? According to the research gathered by this recent report, California grizzly bears weren’t that different from the grizzlies living in the northern Rocky Mountains today. Needless to say, that population is being eyed as a potential source should California choose to reintegrate grizzlies down the road.
Opposition to Introducing a New Grizzly Population
Obviously, there are other reasons Californians may not jump at the opportunity to invite grizzly bears back into their forests. This isn’t the same state it was when the Sunland grizzly was executed in 1916. A modern grizzly population wouldn’t be satisfied with the dwindling salmon numbers or the once bountiful edible flora that has died out over the decades.
And when the Sunland grizzly was shot, a time when grizzly sightings had become exceedingly rare, the estimated population was just over 3 million people. Today, it’s closer to 40 million. And modern technology has left very little of our wilderness off limits. Human interaction with a protected population of California grizzly bears would be higher than anything we’ve seen before.
And if you’re wondering how an interaction like that might go, we need only look back to our friends, the much more docile by comparison black bears. In April 2024, the state reported the first recorded human fatality from a black bear encounter when a 71-year-old woman was mauled in her Downieville home. Which brings us to another major point of opposition: grizzlies like to roam. So, putting a thousand grizzly bears in California forests doesn’t guarantee that they’ll stay there.
Where Would We Put These Grizzlies?
The report also examined the key areas in California with the most potential for hosting a sustainable grizzly bear population. With the report confirming that 1,183 grizzly bears could reasonably be introduced to California’s wilds, the optimal distribution was suggested as:
- 832 in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range (near the Nevada border)
- 236 in the California Northwest Forest
- 115 in the Traverse Ranges (just north of Los Angeles)
Since there’s no foreseeable reason why grizzly bears would migrate to these areas on their own accord, this initial population would need to be collected from an existing source. Favorable areas include the northern Rocky Mountains and British Columbia’s wilderness.
Californians Shouldn’t Expect to Be Mauled in the Near Future
But if you’re concerned about being mauled by a grizzly on your next Griffith Park hike, rest assured that we won’t see wild grizzly bears in California anytime soon. Even though the California Fish and Game Commission has expressed that they’re “open to engaging in a conversation” about the report, a next step would be to order a detailed study overseen by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. And with California’s current budget restrictions, it’s not a priority. But perhaps, someday in the distant future, you won’t have to find a state flag to see one of our famous California grizzly bears. We’re sure you can’t wait.
