Wolves, Wolf Facts, Cougars, Cougar Facts, Coyotes, Coyote Facts - Wolves, Cougars, Coyotes Forever: Starting in the mid 1800's, Gold Rush settlers eliminated the California Grizzly Bears over a 70 year span with the last bruins disappearing in the early 1900's................About 10,000 grizzly bears roamed the valleys, foothills and coastal areas of California in the early 1800's, coexisting with native Californians and enjoying the region’s bounty of seafood and berry producing plants like Toyon(hollyberry) ..............Many biologists feel that California had the "thickest" density of Griz compared to the rest of their western North American historical range............Their impact so large that the Grizzly Bear is the California animal that adorns the state flag and seal..............There is now a call for rewilding the Bears to their once thriving hunting grounds...........In 2014, the advocacy group, the Center for Biological Diversity, filed petitions asking the Fish and Wildlife Service to recover the bears in more of their historic range in Colorado, Idaho and Utah......................Will the 8000 square miles of Sierra Nevada, California mountains be the next stop for the iconic Griz?