California
California Grizzlies Weren't as Big—or Bloodthirsty—as People Once Thought
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/d3/11/d3111f19-4c47-4b13-99ff-9bf6b452c3cb/49185352476_9ee103e012_k.jpg?ssl=1 "California Grizzlies Weren't as Big—or Bloodthirsty—as People Once Thought")
A California grizzly bear specimen at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The brown bear subspecies went extinct around 1924.
Vahe Martirosyan via Flickr under CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED
Historical accounts often portrayed the now-extinct California grizzly bears as huge, bloodthirsty beasts ready to pounce on humans and attack livestock at any time.
But while that probably made for some good stories, scientists say the truth may have been less dramatic: The bears ate a mostly vegetarian diet and were smaller than portrayed, according to a new paper published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
California grizzly bears (Ursus arctos californicus) once roamed the Golden State. But when European—and later, American—settlers began setting up farms there, they removed and fragmented much of the bears’ habitat. In addition, settlers often hunted, poisoned and trapped the creatures, which they viewed as dangerous livestock-killers. Some counties even offered bounties for the bears.
“They were built up as monsters that had to be overcome,” says study co-author Peter Alagona, an environmental historian at the University of California Santa Barbara, to the Atlantic’s Katherine J. Wu.
Over time, because of these human activities, the California grizzly population plummeted. The last reliable sighting of a California grizzly bear occurred 100 years ago in 1924, and the animals disappeared completely sometime after that.
Researchers wanted to get a better understanding of the factors that hastened the bears’ demise. They also hoped to gain more insight into the creatures’ behavior, size and diet.
To do so, they turned to archival documents—such as newspapers, diaries and other historical sources—and California grizzly specimens in natural history collections. They measured the animals’ skulls and teeth to get a sense of their overall body size, and they analyzed their bones and pelts for chemical elements that would indicate what the bears ate while they were alive.
California grizzly bears were about the same size as today’s living grizzlies—roughly 440 pounds—which is much smaller than the 2,000 pounds often reported at the time, the researchers found. Historical accounts may not necessarily have been wrong, but they might have only included the largest bears. Hunters likely targeted the biggest behemoths to earn more money and to boost their own reputations, according to the researchers.
In addition, analyses of the animals’ bones and pelts suggest the bears were primarily eating plants—both before and after Europeans arrived in the region in 1542—which stands in stark contrast to their fearsome, hyper-carnivorous reputation.
Pre-European arrival, 90 percent of the bears’ nutrition came from plants, and 10 percent came from animal meat, the researchers found. Those numbers did shift slightly with the proliferation of farming and ranching, with meat rising to account for 26 percent of the bears’ diet.
“The bears likely increased meat consumption due to landscape changes coupled with the arrival of a new source of protein—livestock,” says study co-author Alexis Mychajliw, a biologist at Middlebury College, to Live Science’s Sascha Pare. However, researchers found the animals still ate a majority vegetarian diet and killed far less livestock than historical accounts suggested.
Zooming out, the findings indicate that human activities can alter an animal’s behavior and diet. But these shifts can also lead to “exaggerated predation narratives” that “incentivize persecution, triggering rapid loss of an otherwise widespread and ecologically flexible animal,” the researchers write in the paper.
By digging beyond the bears’ reputation, the researchers gleaned a more accurate understanding of the California grizzly’s biology and natural history. And since scientists and land managers often rely on historical accounts when reintroducing animals to their former habitats, the study serves as a reminder that old newspapers and journals may not tell the whole story.
“Every piece of history you read about California grizzlies really describes them as being these monsters, incredibly large,” says Alex McInturff, an ecologist at the University of Washington who was not involved in the new paper, to Science’s Rodrigo Pérez Ortega. “So, to hear that they were just like the bears that you see now, that was pretty surprising to me.”
California is returning a stretch of rugged Mendocino County coast to the Indigenous nations whose ancestors once stewarded its shores.
State transportation officials recently approved the transfer of Blues Beach and the surrounding bluffs to Kai Poma, a nonprofit founded by representatives of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
The transfer of 136 acres just south of the community of Westport will mark the first time land managed by the California Department of Transportation has been returned to Indigenous tribes.
“This is beyond huge,” said J. Carlos Rivera, tribal chairman of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians. “It’s enormous from our tribal perspective that we are basically obtaining the land that our people once lived on before colonization.”
California purchased the swath of rocky cliffs and windswept shoreline in the 1960s to expand the construction of Highway 1 and create a scenic viewpoint for highway travelers, according to a California Coastal Commission report.
More recently, public access has been largely unregulated, and summer weekends and holidays have drawn large groups who camp and party on the beach, at times driving through sensitive areas, damaging cultural sites and leaving behind trash, the report states.
Kai Poma plans to conduct cultural and archaeological resource studies and environmental surveys and then prepare a resource management plan for the property, according to planning documents. The nonprofit and the Coastal Commission have drafted a public access management plan that states the land will be open from sunrise to sunset.
Rivera described the entire property as a sacred site. The coastal waters are used by tribal people for seaweed and abalone gathering, and the shores host youth cultural camps, he said. “Protecting the land, it has a deeper meaning for us because we’re connected to the land,” he said.
The effort to acquire the land took years — and required a change in state law. Caltrans lacked the ability to transfer land to tribal governments until 2021, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill sponsored by state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) that enabled the transfer, according to a news release issued at the time. The law also bars commercial activity on the property and requires public access be maintained.
“With 136 acres now officially transferred into tribal stewardship, one of the most spectacular stretches of the Mendocino Coast will be forever protected,” McGuire said in a statement.
“This agreement, the first of its kind in California, gives these three dynamic Native American tribes the rightful opportunity to reclaim sacred lands and cultural traditions on this special piece of earth. And it’s about damn time.”
The land transfer cleared its last regulatory hurdle June 26 with the approval by the California Transportation Commission, said Neil Thapar, an attorney who works as an advisor and legal consultant to Kai Poma. Caltrans staff will next record the deed transferring the title from the state of California to Kai Poma, which is expected to happen any day, he said.
Fireworks Safety Guide
Essential safety tips for buying, handling, and watching fireworks to ensure a safe celebration.
With July 4 falling on a Saturday this year, many businesses and organizations are taking the day off Friday, July 3, to mark America’s 250th birthday. From banking to mail service, here’s what’s open and closed for the holiday weekend.
Most federal offices closed, mail service to continue
Non-essential federal offices will be closed on July 3. However, mail service will continue as normal, and post offices are scheduled to remain open.
Most California government offices to remain open
Most California government offices will be open on July 3, with some exceptions.
DMV offices throughout the state will be open. However, the Employment Development Department will be closed.
DMV offices that offer Saturday hours will be closed on July 4.
Private parcel services to remain open
UPS and FedEx are both scheduled to operate normally on July 3, but will suspend service on July 4.
Stock markets closed
Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be closed on July 3.
Most banks to stay open
While most banks were expected to operate normally on July 3, some may operate under modified holiday hours. All banks will be closed on July 4.
Online banking services should remain operational.
Grocery stores
Most major grocery chains will be open on both July 3 and July 4. Trader Joe’s locations will be open for regular business on July 3 but will close early at 5 p.m. on the Fourth of July.
Retailers
Many major retail stores, such as Walmart and Target, plan to operate under normal business hours on both July 3 and 4. All Costco warehouse stores operate under normal business hours on July 3, but will close on July 4.
Restaurants
Most major restaurant chains remain open on July 4, but some will have limited hours. All Raising Cane’s locations will close on July 4.
Bruce Lee Day aims to honour the San Francisco-born martial arts legend as a cultural bridge and Asian-American icon.
Published On 2 Jul 2026
Martial arts icon Bruce Lee will become the first Chinese American in California history to be honoured with an annual namesake day.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law on Tuesday afternoon, officially designating May 17 as Bruce Lee Day.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Lee was born in San Francisco in 1940 and returned to the city on May 17, 1959, aged 18, after spending his childhood in Hong Kong.
His daughter, Shannon Lee, CEO of the Bruce Lee Foundation, said the honour reflects her father’s enduring legacy as a bridge between cultures.
“From young people who found confidence and possibility in his philosophy, to families who finally saw themselves represented on screen, to athletes who still draw on his teachings of discipline and inner strength, his reach is profound,” she said in a statement.
State Assembly member Matt Haney, who represents San Francisco, called Lee the “epitome of the best of California”.
“At a time when Asian Americans were too often absent from or stereotyped on screen, Bruce Lee helped generations see themselves represented with strength and dignity,” he said.
The Bruce Lee Foundation and Asian-American groups hope Bruce Lee will be celebrated each year with voluntary activities, including cultural exhibits, public events and classroom lessons.
Born to Chinese parents touring the US with an opera, Lee held birthright citizenship. He moved to Hong Kong as an infant, became a child actor, and studied Chinese kung fu before returning to the US in 1959.
He enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle in 1961, but dropped out to teach martial arts.
In the 1960s, Lee appeared in Hollywood, most notably as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, but said studios typecast him in racist roles and paid him less than white actors.
He returned to Hong Kong and starred in martial arts films, including The Big Boss and Fist of Fury.
Lee died tragically in 1973 at the age of 32 after an allergic reaction to pain medication.
His name and likeness remain widely popular.
Fans gather on his birthday, and a treatment he wrote for a television series inspired the HBO Max show “Warrior”.
-
Texas2 minutes agoRecords reveal “systemic neglect” in immigrant’s death
-
Utah5 minutes agoHow will local businesses recover after the Cottonwood Fire?
-
Vermont10 minutes ago
VT Lottery Gimme 5, Pick 3 results for July 2, 2026
-
Virginia17 minutes agoAir Force medical commander removed from post at Virginia base
-
Wisconsin25 minutes agoCost of July 4 cookout hits record high in Wisconsin, US
-
West Virginia32 minutes agoWest Virginia state song ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ becomes World Cup anthem
-
Wyoming35 minutes agoMeasles confirmed in Teton County, Wyoming, as summer crowds flock to parks – East Idaho News
-
Crypto40 minutes agoTrump Made $1.4bn From Cryptocurrency Since Returning to Office
