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.”
Only a week after animal services officials in Riverside County discovered 480 ducks living in crowded, outdoor cages, all of the ducks have been adopted, the result of a what authorities are describing as a massive “teamwork and coordination” effort.
The Riverside County Department of Animal Services found the ducks Tuesday after investigating overcrowding conditions at a property in unincorporated Riverside County, according to the agency. The birds were taken to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, where officials urgently called on the public and rescue organizations to help place them beginning Wednesday.
According to a social media update from the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus, all 480 ducks have been rescued or adopted, marking one of the largest single intake-and-placement efforts for the department in over a decade.
“This large-scale operation required extensive teamwork and coordination across our department,” Riverside County officials said in the social media update.
Animal service officials were not available to explain who had adopted the animals and whether they were adopted as pets or food. But Daniel Markichevich told KABC that he and his fiancée Savannah Burgardt visited the San Jacinto shelter on Wednesday and planned on adopting 20 ducks for their San Jacinto property.
“We have a 3.5-acre farm, so they will just go right into the area and enjoy, and we’ll get out there and look at them, eat their eggs and have a whole full life for them,” said Markichevich, who recently completed construction on a pond in their backyard.
An animal sanctuary in Vacaville, dubbed the Funky Chicken Rescue, took in eight of the ducks, according to a social media post.
Officials said the original owner of the ducks had intended to create a sanctuary for the animals but animal control officers ultimately determined that conditions required intervention, citing improper husbandry and concerns about the number of birds being housed.
Before taking in the ducks, the animal services agency coordinated with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to test a sample of the ducks for zoonotic diseases, according to the county. All results came back negative but early assessments indicated the birds had not received adequate care, according to authorities.
“Overcrowding can contribute to stress and decreased immune function,” Itzel Vizcarra, chief veterinarian for the county animal services agency, said in a statement. “Inadequate nutrition, particularly vitamin A deficiency, can impair the lining of the digestive tract, predisposing birds to inflammation and secondary illness.”
The swift placement effort was supported in part by community donations, including more than 70 bags of waterfowl feed provided by a local business, according to the San Jacinto Valley Animal Campus.
While the ducks now have new homes, officials said the investigation into overcrowding conditions at the original property is ongoing.
A Bay Area couple charged in the murder of a 2-year-old girl who reportedly overdosed on fentanyl earlier this year failed to appear in court last week to face the charges.
The tragic incident occurred just after 5 a.m. on Feb. 12, according to the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office.
Officers with the San Francisco Police Department responded to an apartment in the 3800 block of 18th Street, near Mission Dolores Park, after receiving a 911 call reporting that a child was not breathing.
“Medics arrived at the location and pronounced the two-year-old child deceased,” the DA’s office said in a news release. “Medics observed signs of rigor mortis and lividity, indicating the child had been dead for several hours.”
Responding officers noted that Michelle Price, 38, the girl’s mother, was slurring her speech and had “an emotionless demeanor,” according to court documents. Investigators also observed drug paraphernalia in the apartment, including three pipes, lighters and torches, a used Narcan container, white powder ultimately identified as fentanyl, bottles of spoiled milk and stained sheets on the bed.
Price was arrested for child endangerment.
Her boyfriend, Steve Ramirez, 43, allegedly attempted to flee the apartment on a bicycle, leading police on a chase during which an officer was injured. At the time of his arrest, Ramirez was reportedly in possession of a pipe inside a bag on his bike. Two additional pipes with burnt residue were also found nearby, investigators said.
Blood samples taken from Price and Ramirez at the time of their arrests showed high levels of methamphetamine and fentanyl in their systems, according to the DA’s office.
An autopsy performed by the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office revealed no obvious signs of physical injury to the toddler. However, toxicology testing showed lethal levels of fentanyl, as well as naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, in the child’s bloodstream.
“The cause of death was determined to be acute fentanyl poisoning,” the release stated.
Price was initially charged with felony child endangerment, possession of fentanyl and possession of drug paraphernalia. Ramirez faced the same charges, along with an additional count of resisting, obstructing and delaying a peace officer.
Over the objections of prosecutors, both Price and Ramirez were allowed to remain out of custody ahead of their arraignments.
On April 15, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced an amended complaint charging the couple with second-degree murder, marking the first time such charges have been brought in a fatal fentanyl overdose case in the county.
“There wasn’t really anywhere safe for this child to be inside of this home,” Jenkins said during a press conference announcing the charges. “This is a moment in time where people have to realize that we take these situations very seriously and where, I believe, parents who knowingly possess fentanyl, who understand its lethality and the danger it poses, allow their children to be exposed to it, this is something that can come with respect to accountability if a child dies.”
At the April 16 arraignment, where both defendants failed to appear, Price’s attorney told the court she may have experienced transportation issues. An attorney representing Ramirez said he did not know his client’s whereabouts, according to KTLA’s Bay Area sister station KRON.
While both attorneys said the couple was mourning the loss of the child and struggling with addiction, Ramirez’s lawyer accused the district attorney’s office of turning the case into a media circus, claiming the publicity caused his client to panic.
The judge subsequently issued bench warrants for both Price and Ramirez. It remains unclear whether either has since been taken into custody.
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As the nation prepares for its 250th Independence Day celebration, a decades-long California Fourth of July fireworks tradition that has raised millions for local children’s programs is going dark this year after the California Coastal Commission rejected a final effort to keep it alive, citing environmental concerns to protect the bay.
“We’ve raised over the past 14 years $2 million for kids programs here in Long Beach,” event organizer John Morris told Fox News Digital, adding the July 3 event is fully funded by the local community.
“This community pays for everything — everything. City fees, and the city doesn’t give us a break. We pay $20,000 to the city for police and fire, which I’m fine with, because there’s 100,000 people enjoying the fireworks,” said Morris, a Long Beach resident and business owner.
Morris, who owns the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant, had planned a scaled-up fireworks display this year to mark America’s 250th Independence Day.
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Long Beach residents have enjoyed the fireworks organized by John Morris for over a decade. (Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images)
In January, Coastal Commission staff rejected the proposal, and last week commissioners unanimously upheld that decision despite an appeal backed by local, state and federal officials.
Regulators warned Morris last year that 2025 would likely be the final year for fireworks at the event, as they continue pushing organizers to switch to drone shows they say are more environmentally friendly.
The decision stands in contrast to other approvals by the commission, including a permit granted to SeaWorld allowing up to 40 nights of fireworks.
“They get 40 nights in Mission Bay. All I’m asking for is 20 minutes — it doesn’t make any sense,” Morris said.
Morris, 78, also pushed back on the environmental concerns cited by the commission, pointing to years of testing around the event.
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Due to the lack of fireworks, Morris has decided to cancel the July 3rd celebration.
“We’ve had 10 years of environmental studies,” Morris said. “We test the water before and after the fireworks and send a robotic camera into the bay to check for debris — there’s never been any. It’s been spotless.
“We’ve also had eight years of bird reports to make sure we’re not harming wildlife. We’ve never had an issue. We’ve never been written up one time. So what is it really about?”
Joshua Smith, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission, told Fox News Digital that permits are determined on a case-by-case basis, citing environmental concerns to “protect the bay.”
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Organizer John Morris said environmental studies are regularly conducted to measure the impact of the fireworks show on the bay. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Smith said Morris was approved for a permit to hold a drone show in lieu of fireworks. Morris told Fox News Digital such a show would cost about $200,000 — roughly four times more than traditional fireworks.
Smith confirmed that SeaWorld received a permit allowing 40 nights of fireworks. When pressed on the discrepancy, he reiterated that decisions are made individually and declined to provide further details.
Morris said the loss of the fireworks show will be felt across the community, from local businesses to families who have made the event an annual tradition.
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