California Grizzly

The California grizzly (Ursus arctos californicus), now extinct, is remembered on the California State Flag as a hallmark of this land and the spirit of its people. In centuries past, the now eradicated grizzlies could have be seen at this very location fishing for salmon on their way upstream to spawn. The California grizzly was omnivorous, with a diet that consisted of fish, berries, tree roots, and the occasional elk. As omnivores, grizzlies played an important role in the dispersal of plant seeds, while also preventing overgrazing of vegetation by predating on large mammalian herbivores. Salmon carcasses provided great fertilizer for the land, as did the fish nutrients in their feces, contributing to the abundance of plant diversity still seen in the Bay Area today. Monarch, one of the last grizzly bears to roam the region, can be seen on display at the California Academy of Sciences, serving to educate the public about extinction.