Bears are known by society as powerful yet “friend shaped,” as many have dubbed them in social media. The California state flag depicts a Grizzly Bear, but there hasn’t been a Grizzly Bear in California since 1924. In the United States, California is the only state to have an animal that is extinct to its territory on its flag and seal.
It isn’t just in California either. The lower 48 states have listed Grizzlies as endangered, which is a problem for the ecosystems. Not only will the ecosystem be out of balance without Grizzly Bears, but they are a large piece of culture in the social media world, as well as a large topic with many people.
There are several reasons as to why they are endangered. They have lost their habitat due to logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling. Global warming has also contributed to habitat loss and because of this, bears often venture out to find new homes, which often results in them being killed by humans.
The reason that there are no Grizzlies left in California specifically is because of human effects. In the early mid-1800s, there was the famed gold rush, and many people started to come to California because of this. As more people came, there was competition for land between Grizzly bears and humans, resulting in many people hunting the bears.
Before the gold rush, there were as many as 10,000 Grizzlies, but by 1924, the last Grizzly was seen in Yosemite. This shows the reality of how destructive a society can be to the environment. Due to destructive human behavior, animals are killed, or in this case, face extinction.
Unfortunately, many state governments have not done much to aid Grizzly Bears and their endangered status, besides placing hunting prohibitions. However, these efforts are not enough, and Grizzly Bears are only at six percent of their original population (around 1,500 wild Grizzlies in the lower 48 states).
In Montana, the federal government has released its plan to restore a breeding population of Grizzly bears to the Bitterroot Valley. Previously introduced in 2000, but not approved, officials have started a this new plan, on track to be finalized by 2026. Montana’s plans on increasing Grizzly populations may spark other states to start creating similar legislation, and slowly bring Grizzly populations back to their original state.
While Montana is looking to restore the Grizzly bear population, Idaho is introducing a bill to delist (remove) grizzly bears from the endangered list. In doing this, it would be possible to hunt Grizzly Bears in the state, and their population could dwindle. There is a petition to stop the delisting of the bears on change.org, so if you would like to protect Grizzly bears, please sign the petition to raise awareness and change the minds of those proposing the bill.
Change.org petition
Sources
- https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/grizzly_bear/#:~:text=In%201975%2C%20when%20they%27d,percent%20of%20their%20original%20range.
- https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/11/22/the-federal-government-must-proceed-with-grizzly-bear-recovery-in-bitterroot-mountains-wilderness/
- https://www.nps.gov/katm/blogs/a-brief-history-of-human-and-bear-interaction.htm
- https://www.endangered.org/animals/grizzly-bear/#:~:text=As%20their%20habitat%20was%20destroyed,bears%20were%20threatened%20with%20extinction.
- https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-01-17/feds-announce-plans-to-restore-grizzy-bears-to-the-bitterroot-ecosystem
- https://capitolmuseum.ca.gov/state-symbols/state-animal-grizzly-bear/
- https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/08/14/idaho-sen-jim-risch-introduces-bill-to-fully-delist-grizzly-bears-in-lower-48/
