The animal that graces the State Seal of California is the Grizzly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,As discussed on this Blog often, California had the highest density of Grizzly Bears in the lower 48 at the time of European colonization(16th century)................The mild and temperate climate throughout the non-desert regions of the state harbored a wide array of fruit, insect and animal foodstuffs that enabled Grizzlies to "multiply and prosper" .............. Less than 75 years after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada foothills(1850), every grizzly bear in the state had been hunted down or trapped and killed..............A sad commentary it is regarding us as supposedly the most intelligent species(man), that we now can only celebrate "Griz" in California via stuffed animals at museums..................There is viable habitat throughout California where the Griz could once again roam...............Will we ever have the will the share the Golden State with the animal that many indigenous Indian tribes saw as sacred?

Grizzly bear returns to California

SANTA MARIA NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM UNVEILS NEW EXHIBIT

Santa Maria Natural History Museum volunteer Clarence

 Rusconi dusts off the new grizzly bear exhibit which just 

arrived to the museum from the Napa Valley where the

 Mondavi family loaned the mount to the local museum.

 Grizzly bears are extinct in California, though during the

 early years as a state they were abundant.

The last known California grizzly bear was killed in 1922 in

 Tulare County near Yosemite National Park.

But visitors to the Santa Maria Natural History Museum can

 get a glimpse of the fearsome figure that adorns the state 

flag in a new exhibit on loan from Napa Valley.

"This bear is from Canada and it was donated to the museum,"

 said Clarence Rusconi, a docent in the Santa Maria museum. 

"They're a lot bigger than the black bears that are in the hills

 around here up toward Cuyama."

The bear shares a room with a California tule elk that has

 lived at the museum for many years.

The museum is hosting a Fall Equinox mixer Thursday from

 5 to 7:30 p.m. to show off the new exhibit.

The grizzly bear has been as tightly linked with California as a

 mother bear and her cub for as long as humans have lived in

 the Golden State.

Native tribes worshiped the grizzly for its strength, beauty and

 majesty when the massive bears thrived in California's valleys 

and foothills. When the trickle of Spanish explorers turned into

 a flood of Mexican and white settlers pouring into California, it 

marked the beginning of the bears' last stand.

Although white settlers used the bear as a symbol in their battle

 for independence from Mexico in the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, 

they killed the bears by the hundreds. Less than 75 years after

 gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada foothills, every grizzly

 bear in the state had been hunted down or trapped and killed.

One of the trappers, James Cappen "Grizzly" Adams, became an

 early California legend. Although he was known for trapping and

 hunting hundreds of the ferocious bears, he also raised young

 cubs as pets and was known for walking the streets of San

 Francisco with his longtime pet, Ben Franklin, according to reports.

The grizzly at the Santa Maria museum is smaller and darker

 than the typical California grizzly — ursus arctos californicus.

 One of the largest grizzlies on record, a 2,200-pounder, was

 killed near Valley Center in 1886.

The Santa Maria exhibit comes to the museum from the Mondavi 

family of the Napa Valley. It depicts a bear over the partially

 buried body of another grizzly.

"The museum is very grateful to the Marc Mondavi Family

 and David Hoxsey for making the new exhibit possible," 

said exhibit committee member Virginia Souza.

Another attraction new to the museum is the Bird Hall, 

a roomful of birds indigenous to the area.