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Post by brobear on Feb 24, 2019 10:10:30 GMT -5
Yes, I remember reading that. I believe the 2,300 pound bear story to be true ( to a point ). Any park ranger or bear biologist will telly you, it takes a real expert to estimate the weight of a bear. Those guys probably had killed the biggest bear they ever saw; possibly the size of Bart the Bear or Samson ( same size ) and as they talked, the bear kept growing. ( IMO ).
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Post by King Kodiak on Feb 24, 2019 10:35:31 GMT -5
Yes, I remember reading that. I believe the 2,300 pound bear story to be true ( to a point ). Any park ranger or bear biologist will telly you, it takes a real expert to estimate the weight of a bear. Those guys probably had killed the biggest bear they ever saw; possibly the size of Bart the Bear or Samson ( same size ) and as they talked, the bear kept growing. ( IMO ). Could be true, makes sense, its just not verified. Makes sense because if there are expert hunters, well those were the California hunters of that era. With not so powerful weapons, and other methods, they wiped out the California grizzly population. So they pretty much knew everything about that subspecies of brown bear.
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Post by brobear on Feb 24, 2019 11:16:07 GMT -5
Yes, I remember reading that. I believe the 2,300 pound bear story to be true ( to a point ). Any park ranger or bear biologist will telly you, it takes a real expert to estimate the weight of a bear. Those guys probably had killed the biggest bear they ever saw; possibly the size of Bart the Bear or Samson ( same size ) and as they talked, the bear kept growing. ( IMO ). Could be true, makes sense, its just not verified. Makes sense because if there are expert hunters, well those were the California hunters of that era. With not so powerful weapons, and other methods, they wiped out the California grizzly population. So they pretty much knew everything about that subspecies of brown bear. However, hunters are as sorry as everyone else when it comes to trying to estimate the weight of a bear. Imagine yourself sleeping on a bed-roll in the woods or, at best you have a small log cabin. You shoot a huge bear. You have no heavy machinery to lift it. In fact, you probably have no use for a set of scales of any kind. You skin the bear right away. You estimate his size as best you can. Not lying, at least not on purpose. They knew that these were the biggest and meanest-tempered bears in N. America. But, considering the climate and food resources, I have no doubts that here is where there just might have been a few 2,000 pound grizzlies.
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Post by King Kodiak on Feb 24, 2019 12:00:26 GMT -5
Yeah i agree that there had to be some 2000 lb California grizzlies. From what i read, and there are alot of details on this book, they hunted the largest specimens possible, and most were estimated between 800 and 1200 lbs. (most).
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2019 9:27:07 GMT -5
I asked this question over on wildfact.com/forum/Quote: Question for those in the know. Historically, during the Holocene, were bison ever native to California? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_California - 2 species of bison. Bison, Bison bison (extirpated in the early 1800s. Looks like you are right King Kodiak ( a surprise to me ). Other than the occasional bison herd brushing into the western portion of the state, bison were not native to California after the end of the Pleistocene. www.kcet.org/redefine/5-species-you-might-have-mistakenly-thought-were-california-natives The symbol of Wild America probably didn't exist in most of California in the 17th Century, though there's some dispute over whether herds of plains bison may have occasionally ranged into a thin sliver of the state in eastern Modoc County back in the day, likely staying in the desert steppe east of the Warner Mountains. That may come as a surprise to visitors to Santa Catalina Island, where the local bison herd seems to blend wonderfully into the landscape. But aside from the possibility that those eastern Modoc bison may have visited once in a while, and aside from a couple vague second-hand reports of "buffaloes" related by early California explorers like Juan Crespí, there is essentially no evidence of modern bison in California. It kind of makes sense: bison don't climb steep mountains if they can avoid it, and California is well-defended along its eastern border with steeply tilted fault-block mountain ranges. Why cross the Warners when there's perfectly good grass in the sagebrush steppe below? Of course that's modern bison, with the easy to remember Latin binomial "Bison bison." There were other species of bison in California back in the Pleistocene, even bigger and crankier and more dangerous than the kind we have now. Bison antiquus, the most common large herbivore found in the La Brea Tar Pits, lived here up until about 10,000 years ago. Bison latifrons, which had a truly fearsome set of horns that could span seven feet from tip to tip, died out in California somewhere between 30,000 and 21,000 years ago. But their inheritors the modern bison? Not so much with the California territory. Something to remember as you take in the iconic California countryside on Catalina.
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2019 11:24:52 GMT -5
With bison being very few and extremely rare in California, I would conclude then that just as in Russia and Alaska, only the coastal bears were truly monstrous in size. Besides inlets filled with fish, these big brown bears had other sea-food including sea lions, elephant seals, sea turtles, and the occasional beached whale. These coastal California grizzlies were ( probably ) the largest bears of the Holocene. However, we have no hard evidence of proof. Only word of mouth recorded by black ink on paper.
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2019 12:21:41 GMT -5
www.extinctanimals.org/california-grizzly-bear.htm California grizzly bear is an extinct subspecies of Brown bear. Their appearance was quite like the bears found in the southern coast of present day Alaska. In California (formerly known as Bear Republic), this subspecies was admired for its size, strength and beauty. Earlier, all grizzlies found in North America were grouped together as a unique species till recent DNA testing showed that they must be sorted taxonomically in the same species. Thenceforward, the California grizzly was reclassified as a separate species. History The first recorded encounter of California grizzlies came from the dairies of Europeans kept by Portola expedition members in 1769. From earlier accounts, it was known that they often could be seen in bloody battles with longhorn bulls. Range The California grizzly was found from the peak of the Sierra County, throughout the sweeping valleys to coastal beaches. Habitat and Adaptation Their habitat included forests, woodlands and meadows. In winter they used to live in higher elevation. In summer and spring, they preferred to dwell in lower elevation.
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2019 12:22:30 GMT -5
www.extinctanimals.org/california-grizzly-bear.htm Extinction The settlers introduced huge cattle herds triggering habitat loss for the California grizzlies. It forced the bears to kill livestock and thus becoming ranchers’ enemies. Across the western part of the state, this Grizzly subspecies were trapped, poisoned and shot. In less that seventy-five years, after the uncovering of gold in 1848, every Grizzly specimen in the Bear State were tracked down and killed. The last accounted hunt took place in Tulare County, California, in August 1922. In 1924, the last reported grizzly sighting came from Sierra Madre Mountains, in Santa Barbara County. Interesting Facts: In 1866, a California grizzly weighing around 2200 pounds was killed in Valley Center, California. It was believed to be the biggest bear ever killed till John Lang shot an individual weighing 2320 pounds in 1873, near his ranch in Canyon Country. At times, Grizzlies are captured and displayed in public battles with bulls, attracting bets from the spectators. The word “Grizzly” suggests the golden and grey hair tips. In 1953, the California Grizzly was named the official state animal. The California Maritime Academy has a training ship called “Golden Bear.”
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Post by brobear on Mar 4, 2019 12:25:41 GMT -5
www.extinctanimals.org/california-grizzly-bear.htm Symbols This subspecies is the most enduring and visible symbol of California, decking both the state seal and the state flag. Grizzly was the symbol of the Bear Republic, the name that California carried when it was an independent country. Later the national flag of the Bear Republic became the state flag of California, which is still popular as ‘Bear State.’ In 1911, a new version of the state flag was adopted by the state legislature. In 1849, the bear seal became a permanent part of the state seal. Reintroduction The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received a petition where they were asked to meet their legal obligation under the Endangered Species Act and introduce Grizzly bears to a sufficient and suitable space in the West. California still holds a great habitat for 500 grizzly bears. The petition, however, did not ask for immediate introduction of Grizzly population. It also asked to bring proper groundwork including public education and careful study of its habitat
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Post by brobear on Mar 7, 2019 2:28:59 GMT -5
shaggygod.proboards.com/ The California grizzly bear was designated the official State Animal in 1953. Before dying out in California, this largest and most powerful of carnivores thrived in the great valleys and low mountains of the state. As California began to populate, the grizzly stood its ground, refusing to retreat in the face of advancing civilization. It killed livestock and interfered with settlers. Less than 75 years after the discovery of gold, every grizzly bear in California had been tracked down and killed. The last one was killed in Tulare County in August 1922. More than 20 years later, the authority to regulate the taking of fish and wildlife was delegated to the California Fish and Game Commission by the State Legislature. Figure 3: California grizzly bear (Anonymous painting, 1856). Grizzly bears were once abundant throughout California where they had managed to co-exist with Native Americans for thousands of years. Like bears today in Alaska, they presumably fed heavily on the abundant salmon in the rivers as well as on a wide variety of other foods, with individuals roaming widely. European American settlers, however, regarded them as competitors and as predators on livestock, and so hunted them into extinction. The last grizzly bear in California was killed in 1922.
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Post by brobear on Mar 7, 2019 2:31:03 GMT -5
shaggygod.proboards.com/ URSUS CALIFORNICUS Merriam. California Coast Grizzly. [Ursus horriaus] subspecies californicus Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, X, pp. 76-77, April 13, 1896. Vrsus californicus Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, XXVII, pp. 186, 188, August 18, 1914. Type locality.—Monterey, California. Type specimen.—Skull No. 3630, (male) old, U. S. National Museum. Range.—Humid coast region of California from San Francisco Bay south about to San Luis Obispo (apparently passing into tularensis in the dryer interior). Characters.—Size large; claws long and smooth; pelage variable. Dentition heavy; last upper molar large, its heel long and broad. Cranial characters.—Adult male: Skull long and narrow; vault of cranium flat—not arched; frontal shield flat (or concave medially), short pointed posteriorly, gradually sloping almost in same plane with rostrum (dishing slight); temporal impressions beaded; postorbitals massive and moderately spreading; zygomata slightly bowed; rostrum long, slightly compressed in front of orbits; nasals nearly horizontal, slightly rising posteriorly in plane of shield; frontal shield moderately broad, slightly swollen over orbits, the point lost in sagittal crest 25 to 50 mm. anterior to fronto-parietal suture; postorbital processes strongly developed, subtriangular, rather massive, outstanding, and slightly decurved over orbits; sagittal crest strongly developed and nearly straight; squamosal shelf broad; squamosal base of zygoma vertically expanded in aged skulls; frontal part of braincase in young-adult skulls somewhat elevated and tending to " keel" into crest; mastoid processes long; interpterygoid fossa long and usually narrow; underjaw long and massive, ramus broad vertically. Teeth large and heavy; M-2- subrectangular, heel long, broad posteriorly. Skull of female: Similar to that of male, but smaller. Cranial comparisons.—Adult and old male compared with adult male klamathensis (type): Skull longer; zygomatic breadth essentially the same; face and rostrum longer; rostrum more compressed in front of orbits; fronto-nasal region more dished; frontal shield more concave medially and more swollen at orbital rims; postorbital processes much more massive, slightly arched, the tips slightly de-curved; temporal beads more strongly incurved; sagittal crest shorter posteriorly; lambdoid crest more outstanding laterally; occipital overhang much less; squamosal shelf behind zygoma much shorter; occipito-sphenoid and palate longer; mastoids much longer and more strongly outstanding. Underj aw much longer. Dentition heavier, the last upper and middle lower molar in particular much larger; heel of M2- very broad and broadly rounded posteriorly. Old male from Monterey, compared with old male colusus (type, from Sacramento Eiver): Fronto-nasal region slightly higher and less depressed; rostrum higher, less depressed, and less horizontal; postorbitals much larger and more swollen; orbital rims more swollen; orbits more nearly vertical, squamosal base of zygoma more expanded; palate narrower anteriorly; ramus much broader vertically, its inferior border less convex in middle part and more bellied posteriorly; apex of coronoid more produced posteriorly; angular process larger and longer; mastoids longer and directed less anteriorly, not reaching so near glenoid process. Dentition stronger and strikingly din3erent: canines larger; upper incisors and both upper and lower molars very much larger; heel of large and not normally emarginate. Skull measurements.—Old male (type): Basal length, 361; oc-cipito-nasal length, 346; palatal length, 196; zygomatic breadth, 224; interorbital breadth, 82.
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Post by brobear on Mar 7, 2019 2:32:14 GMT -5
shaggygod.proboards.com/ URSUS TULARENSIS Merriam. Tejon Grizzly. Ursus californicus tularensis Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soe. Washington, XXVII, p. 188, August 13, 1914. Type locality.—Fort Tejon, Canada de las Uvas, Tehachapi Mountains, California. Type specimen.—No. 3536, (male) old, U. S. National Museum. Collected by John Xantus. Range.—Dry chaparral hills of interior coast ranges between the San Joaquin Valley and Los Angeles plain, comprising the Tehachapi, Tejon, Sierra Madre, and San Gabriel Eanges, and probably San Bernardino Mountains also, and ranging northward an unknown distance, doubtless covering the San Kafael and Gabilan Eanges, and southern part of the Diablo Eange; limits unknown. Characters.—Size large, but smaller than californicus; claws of grizzly type, but those of a female dark, thick, and broad for a fe- male, rather straight (tips worn off), straighter and broader than in female magister. Color.--Nearly full-grown male killed by Walter Eichardson, near head of Tejunga Canyon, San Gabriel Mountains, Southern California, in 1897: General color very dark brown, almost dusky; grizzled on upperparts by admixture of pale-tipped hairs; muzzle reddish brown. Cranial characters.—Old mole: Skull large, rather broad and flat frontally, moderately dished, moderately high, with large outstanding postorbitals and beaded temporal ridges. Frontal shield rather broad, swollen, and somewhat elevated on orbital rims and base of postorbitals, depressed intcrorbitally, sloping gradually into rostrum; rostrum large and rather high; fronto-nasal region not depressed; sagittal crest rather short, elevated and produced posteriorly; occipital overhang marked; zygomata moderately spreading, subtriangular; palate and postpalatal shelf broad and flat, mastoids rather long and inclined strongly forward. Underj aw large and rather massive; ramus broad vertically, strongly bellied posteriorly; coronoid rather high, its apex not strongly recurved. Teeth large; M-2 sub-rectangular, the long heel only slightly emarginate on outer side. Adult and old females: Skulls more easily distinguished than in males from their nearest relative, californicus. The skull of the female is much more like the normal female grizzly type, not resembling the males as does the female of californicus. Cranial comparisons.—Adult and old females compared with female californicus: Skull decidedly smaller; frontal shield behind plane of postorbital processes more elevated and convex—not depressed and concave as in californicus; point of shield longer and broader; orbital rims more swollen; sagittal crest shorter and lower; palate at least 10 mm. shorter; occipito-sphenoid about 10 mm. shorter; underjaw smaller and lighter; last upper molar decidedly smaller. Normal M-2- subrectangular as in californicus (in henshawi sub triangular and small). Adult and old males compared with male californicus: Similar but smaller; base of cranium shorter; palate slightly shorter; occipito-nasal length decidedly less; braincase decidedly shorter; zygomatic breadth same or slightly greater—the skull as a whole relatively broader than in californicus; postpalatal shelf broader; underjaw materially shorter; M1 decidedly smaller (both shorter and narrower) ; lower series of teeth smaller, M1 and M2 particularly smaller, much narrower and less massive; heel of last upper molar less broad than in californicus. Adult male compared with henshawi (type): Skull larger and more massive; fronto-nasal region much higher and much less dished; rostrum larger, higher, and not depressed; zygomata more 64854°—18-3 broadly spreading: postpalatal shelf broader; coronoid larger and less falcate; ramus broader vertically; last upper molar much larger, the heel long and broad posteriorly, contrasted with the short sub-triangular heel of henshawi. Skull measurements.—Average of two old males from Fort Tejon, California: Basal length, 329; occipito-nasal length, 320.5; palatal length, 179.5; zygomatic breadth, 228; interorbital breadth, 78. Old female from Fort Tejon: Basal length, 296; occipito-nasal length, 287; palatal length, 162; zygomatic breadth, 187; interorbital breadth, 75.
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Post by brobear on Mar 7, 2019 2:34:47 GMT -5
shaggygod.proboards.com/ In 1889, Allan Kelly, a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner, was summoned to the office of William Randolph Hearst where he was asked the question "Do you think you could get me a California grizzly bear?" Kelly replied, "I think I could get a bear if I tried. Do you what him dead or alive?" The reply: "Alive." Kelly left immediately for Southern California and went to the Ojai Valley in Ventura County near Santa Paula. He secured the services of a guide, three other men, a pack mule, and suitable horses. For six months the five men camped in the mountains, setting traps and cages built of logs, and baited with quarters of beef. Finally their efforts were rewarded and one of the traps held a huge grizzly. They waited two days for the bear to calm down and then fashioned a noose from chain and put it through the logs. When the bear stepped into the noose, four men hauled away but with one whip of his paw, the bear jerked the chain from the men and snarled. Next another noose was fashioned and dropped through the top of the cage. When the bear stepped in it, the chain was jerked up to his shoulder and after several hours of struggle, it was secured to the cage. Then the other legs were snared and finally the bear was spread eagled on the ground. Finally he was offered a stick which he grabbed in his jaws and a rope was passed several times around the stick and jaws. Fashioning a skid, it took fours days to pull the bear down to a road. There another cage was constructed and the now caged bear was placed on a wagon and transported to the railway in Ventura where he was placed in a box car and shipped to San Francisco. A jubilant Hearst called the park and said " I have a grizzly bear for your Menagerie." Park staff replied "We don’t want him" so Monarch, as the bear was named, was taken to Woodward’s Gardens to be placed on display. When the Midwinter Fair came to San Francisco in 1894, Monarch was at last brought to Golden Gate Park and lowered into a huge concrete pit prepared for him. After the Fair, an iron cage was built for Monarch at the top of the hill between what is now the Aids Grove and handball courts. The bars were bent in at the top to keep the bear from climbing out and Monarch seem satisfied with the situation until someone donated an Alaskan moose to the Park. Monarch immediately developed a fondness for moose meat and attendants had to use iron bars to keep him from climbing out. He was placed in a smaller cage until the cage could be reinforced. After a few years, Monarch showed signs of loneliness and it was feared he might die. Again Hearst stepped in and purchased a female silver tip grizzly from Idaho. When the female arrived in 1903, Monarch immediately showed his interest. The female was placed in an adjoining cage and Monarch plowed the ground until he’d dug a trench big enough for two bears his size but without attracting any attention from the female, he proceeded to lie down in the hole and gaze longingly though the bars. The female was in new mood for his antics and even vented her displeasure on a photographer who was trying to conduct an interview. The next day, the two bears were put in the same cage and they romped and played together for over an hour, but finally the female decided Monarch was getting too familiar and she reared up on her hind legs and boxed his ears. Animal courtship being what it is, Monarch finally established a relationship and his descendents can be found at the zoo. Upon his death in 1911, he was stuffed and stands now in the California Academy of Science not far from where he was caged. The Bear Cage remained in the park until the late 20’s when an adventurous boy climbed the fence and was attacked by a bear and blinded. The city paid $6,000 to the child and today the bear cage is just a memory. Monarch was named for the San Francisco Examiner, "The Monarch of the Dailies." His stuffed remains served as model for the bear on our state flag.
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Post by brobear on Mar 7, 2019 2:36:38 GMT -5
shaggygod.proboards.com/ URSUS COLUSUS Merriam. Sacramento Valley Grizzly. Ursus colusus Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, XXVII, pp. 187-188, August 13, 1914. Type locality.—Sacramento River valley, California (probably between Colusa and Sacramento). Type specimen.—No. 3837, (male) old, U. S. National Museum. Collected by the Wilkes TJ. S. Exploring Expedition and marked " C. P. Ex. Ex. 6.16 " (the numerals uncertain, there being indication of a figure in front of the first 6). The words "Grizzly Bear, Sacramento " are written on the right parietal in pencil. Range.—Sacramento (and perhaps also San Joaquin) Valley and adjacent foothills; westerly in the hot inner coast mountains to Dobbins Creek canyon on the boundary between southeastern Humboldt and southwestern Trinity Counties. Characters.—Size large, external characters unknown. Skull large and long, resembling that of californicus, but teeth smaller and last upper molar very different. Cranial characters.—Old male: Skull large, long, and low, the frontal shield flat, postorbital processes moderate or small, fronto-nasal region moderately dished, palate long, sagittal crest high, temporal ridges beaded, and occipital overhang pronounced. In general resembling largest skulls of californicus but having very much smaller teeth and differing in numerous minor cranial characters. Young-adult female: One from San Jose Mission (No. 1143, Yale Museum) appears to be a not quite grown female colusus. The last upper molar is short and subtriangular, the heel emarginate on outer side. Cranial comparisons.—Old male (type) compared with old male californicus (from Monterey): Fronto-nasal region slightly lower and more depressed; rostrum lower, more depressed and more nearly horizontal ; postorbitals much smaller and less swollen; orbital rims less swollen; orbits less nearly vertical; squamosal base of zygoma less ex-panded; palate broader anteriorly; ramus much less broad vertically, its inferior border more convex in middle part and less bellied posteriorly ; apex of coronoid less produced posteriorly; angular process smaller and shorter; mastoids shorter and directed more anteriorly, reaching nearer to glenoid process. Dentition weaker and strikingly different: canines too badly broken to admit of satisfactory comparison, but obviously smaller; upper incisors and both upper and lower molars very much smaller; heel of M2 small and strongly emarginate on outer side, of same size and approximately same form as in kla-mathensis but even more strongly constricted on outer side immediately behind second cusp; lower molars of same size as in klamathen-sis though the jaw is much longer. Old male (type) compared with Mamathensis: Postorbitals, length of sagittal crest, form of zygomata, and dentition essentially the same, but skull longer; vault of cranium much lower; frontal shield narrower and much shorter; temporal beads much more strongly incurved; fronto-nasal region dished instead of elevated; rostrum much lower, more depressed, and more nearly horizontal; ramus longer, less broad vertically; diastema much longer. Skull measurements.—Old male (type) : Basal length, 352; occipito-nasal length, 337; palatal length. 185; zygomatic breadth, 228; interorbital breadth, 82.5.
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Post by brobear on Mar 22, 2019 5:21:30 GMT -5
Possibly the largest bear in modern times. Unfortunately, killed off by greed and fear too soon to be studied by biologists.
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Post by brobear on Jan 5, 2020 7:43:34 GMT -5
The Legendary California Grizzly.
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Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jan 5, 2020 7:53:15 GMT -5
Possibly the largest bear in modern times. Unfortunately, killed off by greed and fear too soon to be studied by biologists. If they were alive some of them actually grow heavier than the largest polar bear estimated to be 2200 pounds.
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Post by brobear on Jan 5, 2020 7:59:26 GMT -5
Possibly the largest bear in modern times. Unfortunately, killed off by greed and fear too soon to be studied by biologists. If they were alive some of them actually grow heavier than the largest polar bear estimated to be 2200 pounds. Possibly.
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Post by brobear on Feb 21, 2020 2:55:52 GMT -5
Post from BorneanTiger at Wildfact: First, let's look at the full story:
"A town gets a name Valley Center was the site of the capture of the largest California Grizzly Bear in history. In 1866, a grizzly weighing 2,200 pounds was killed in the area. Although the town had been settled in 1845 and homesteaded in 1862, it had no formal name until the famous 1866 bear incident. The notoriety surrounding the event gave Valley Center its original name of Bear Valley. The name was subsequently changed to Valley in 1874, to Valley Centre in 1878 and, finally, to Valley Center in 1887.
The legend of the great bear A giant grizzly bear, which had been threatening both man and cattle, was killed near the home of James and Ada Lovett in 1866. Lovett and several men dragged the giant animal to where it could be loaded onto a wagon and drove eight miles to the Vineyard Ranch of Col. A.E. Maxcy who had been offering a reward for the capture of the bear. The bear was hoisted onto Maxcy’s cattle scales where it weighed 2,200 pounds and was declared to be the largest grizzly bear ever killed in California.
The bear was skinned and cut up, with more than one pound of lead found inside its head. Col. Maxcy kept the skull of the bear as a souvenir until around 1900 when it was reportedly sold to a museum in the south, believed to be either Georgia or Tennessee. Efforts in recent years to locate the skull have been unsuccessful.
An eyewitness account The killing of the grizzly was witnessed in 1866 by the 6-year-old daughter of James and Ada Lovett. Some six decades later, in 1932 at age 72, Catherine E. Lovett Smith returned to the family homestead for a visit and provided an oral history of the event to the owner of the ranch, Edward P. Haskell. Mr. Haskell prepared a 3-page documentation of his interview with Catherine and provided a copy for the local history archives at Valley Center Library. His report is titled, How Bear Valley Got Its Name. A peach grower, Haskell created a peach label showing an old oak tree on his property where the bear reportedly attempted the attack. The tree still stands off Guejito Road as does the Lovett home. Descendants of two other pioneer families concur on the story of the bear and how Bear Valley got its name, but differ on the size of the animal. Clyde James, whose father homesteaded here in 1879, said the bear was well over 1,000 pounds. Waldo Breedlove, Sr., born here in 1889 and who grew up near the Lovett ranch, gave the exact weight as 1,950 pounds.
The teddy bear In 1902, the 26th President of the United States went on a bear hunt, but refused to shoot the bear cub. A cartoon appeared in the Washington Post to publicize his ethical decision. So popular was Theodore Roosevelt’s decision that a toy stuffed bear was created to celebrate the event. And thus was born the Teddy (Roosevelt) Bear.
The California Grizzly The California Grizzly Bear, the largest and most powerful of the bears, thrived in the state for centuries. Some grew to a formidable height of 8 feet and weighed 2,000 pounds, according to a history of California written in 1898. When European immigrants arrived in the state, it was estimated that 10,000 grizzlies inhabited most regions of California. As humans began to populate the state, the grizzly stood its ground, refusing to retreat in the face of advancing civilization. Less than 75 years after the discovery of gold, however, every grizzly in California had been tracked down and killed. It has been extinct since 1924.
The killing begins Although the grizzly had roamed the state at will for 300 years, the gold rush of 1849 rang the death knell for the bear. It has been said that the appearance of the repeating rifle in 1848 spelled death for the grizzly. Initially hunted by miners and others because it was considered dangerous, the grizzly was then mercilessly hunted for sport and for its warm fur. Settlers in the late 1800s commonly shot and poisoned bears to protect their livestock.
The stock market connection Spanish caballeros roped grizzlies, dragging them into doomed public battles with wild bulls. This popular spectator sport inspired betting as to whether the bear or the bull would win. This gave the modern stock market its “bear” and “bull” nicknames — the bear swipes downward while the bull hooks upward. The path to extinction The last known physical specimen of a California grizzly was shot and killed in Fresno County in 1922. Two years later, the last wild California grizzly was spotted several times in Sequoia National Park and then never seen again. Civilized man had made California’s official animal officially extinct by 1924.
Our specimen The taxidermy mount of the grizzly bear on display at the Valley Center History Museum stands nearly 8 feet tall and weighs more than 1,200 pounds. It was originally on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum (founded 1874). It was acquired in 1992 by the Escondido Historical Society for display at its Heritage Walk Museum. The specimen was donated as a generous gift in 2002 by the Escondido Historical Society to the Valley Center History Museum because the bear was a significant part of Valley Center’s local history. Bear specimens in museums commonly come from bears that died of natural causes, illegally confiscated bears, or bears that had to be put down.
The state symbol The California grizzly is one of the state’s most visible and enduring symbols, adorning both the state flag and seal. The Bear Flag first flew in 46 as a symbol of the New Republic of California, but was replaced by a second version adopted by the State Legislature in 1911. The bear symbol became a permanent part of the State Seal in 1849. The California Grizzly was designated the official State Animal in 1953.
Sources: Local history collection at the Valley Center Library, archives of the Valley Center History Museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, The Bancroft Library at the University of California, the Library of Congress, and the California State Library."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2020 14:01:04 GMT -5
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