Herrera 1
Omar Herrera
Shirley Kahlert
Writing 01
29 November 2012
The Grizzly Bear
“About the most fascinating way to hunt bear, which is even better than night work, is to
trail him right to his home and meet him in broad daylight on his own doorstep, as It were. It can
be done, but everything must be just right the ground might be covered with a light fall of snow,
and the snow ought to be melting. Then the twigs won't break. One has to be very careful, and
when bruin Is found, which Is generally at the foot of a large tree, one must never forget that
instead of one there may be two, and, in that case, one must be able to shoot fast and straight, and
implicit confidence in the gun he carries is about the best stock in trade a man can possess.
About the surest place to shoot a bear to stop him quickly, to my way of thinking, is directly In
the brain. It is really not a hard shot, usually at short range, and it puts him out mighty quick”
(Amador Ledger4). At one point in time grizzly bears roamed California in numbers totaling ten
thousand. Today grizzly bears have perished and are forever gone. The extinction of the grizzly
bear brings consequences for the environment, animals, and humans. First, nature is affected
because grizzly bears were contributors to the environment through their daily activities. Second
grizzly bears are important to the state of California because they serve as an example of the
damage mankind is capable of inflicting upon the environment. Finally grizzly bears depict how
the environments forcibly changing overtime.
Herrera 2
First, forested areas are affected by the absence of the grizzly and their daily activities.
Grizzly bears were once dominant creatures on the plains of California who up until 1911 could
be referred to as the “kings” of their domain. Grizzly bears helped ecosystems flourish into what
they are today. First, they served as seed dispensers and nutrient providers. According to Laura
Cunningham berries were a common source of food along with fish, tree roots, and ground
squirrels. The bears would scatter numerous seeds throughout forests in form of scat
(Cunningham21). This was made possible because a bear’s digestive system allowed seeds to
pass through them unbroken. Bears came with their own pile of fresh manure as fertilizer to help
nurture plants. Moreover, Grizzlies increase species richness and nitrogen availability. Grizzlies
were very fond of salmon. They were often found devouring twenty five fish on a single day.
Grizzlies would take larger fish into forests to avoid competition with scavenger birds
(Cunningham21). On many occasions fish were left nearly whole and overtime remaining
salmon carcass would decay into the forest floor. Since salmon were rich in nitrogen, decaying
salmon carcasses would provide nutrients for the soil, promoting faster and increased vegetation
growth (Cunningham21). After consuming nitrogen rich fish, bear urine also helped the
nourishment of numerous plants because it was very rich in nitrogen. Lastly bears helped keep
predators in low numbers and prevented overgrazing. According to National Geographic,
“Grizzly bears were powerful top-of-the-food-chain predators” (NationalGeographic). The
removal of the grizzly bear from the environment jeopardizes plant life. Since grizzly bears were
at the top of the food chain, lower scale predators such as wolf, cougar, and coyote can now
avoid living in fear the carnivorous creature. This means predators can feed on plants within
forests, thus reducing food sources for many creatures and reducing plant density. Reduced plant
density will eventually force hungry animals to resort to other means of food, such as invading
Herrera 3
residential areas and posing as threats to many civilians. Without the grizzlies to flourish
ecosystems, forested areas will soon be gone.
Secondly grizzly bears are an important symbol to the state of California because they
represent the damage mankind is capable of inflicting upon the environment. Humans are the
culprits of the extinction of the grizzly bear. First grizzly bears numbers declined after 1848
because they were hunted by people. 1848 was an important year for California. It was the year
that Gold was first discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.
Since then, people from other states began to migrate to California for the sole purpose of gold.
As a source of food, many immigrants hunted bears. They would use their meat as a source of
food and their fur for warmth. According to Cunningham the bear-bull fights in 1849 also wiped
out many grizzlies. The bear bull fights were a “sport vaqueros developed in chasing and
lassoing bears, taking them back to corals and having them face wild bulls in battle”
(Cunningham 32). This horrific sport was based on the sole purpose of entertainment; these
“vaqueros” were sole contributors to many inhuman animal cruelty acts. In 1870 “market
hunters” also started hunting grizzly bears for hides and their meat. These hunters by far caused
the greatest massacre of the grizzlies, they hunted bears in large numbers and shipped their meat
to ports as far as San Diego, says Cunningham. Moreover humans had no indignant reason to
disturb these animals in their natural habitats. Grizzly bears occupied the land long before people
began to populate California. As human beings, people have an obligation to the land to protect it
and its creatures. People have failed the simple task of protecting the land, thus one of the main
consequences has been extinction. The grizzly bear is no more, and humans are the delinquents.
Lastly, lack of respect towards the environment and its species demonstrates the ignorance of
people. People fail to see the positive effects the environment has on daily life. Wild animal
Herrera 4
captivity is nothing new for the twenty first century. Past ancestors captured an abundance of
animals, such as Monarch the grizzly bear. According to Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
for the San Francisco Chronicle Monarch was the last of his kind captured in San Francisco
(Fimrite). Monarch was captured by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in the year
1889 and was forcibly kept captive in a cage for twenty two years until the day he perished
(Fimrite). Human sympathy led Monarch to be the symbol on the California flag. The symbolic
meaning of the damage humans inflict on the environment.
Finally, the extinction of grizzly bears provides an example of environmental change.
Grizzly bear extinction is sufficient evidence to claim environmental change. First, factors such
as climate change, food abundance, and land availability determine the evolution of the
environment. Factors such as these attract many species of animals including the grizzly bear.
According to Fimrite, Susan Snyder the head of public services for the Bancroft Library in
Berkeley states “abundant food and the Mediterranean climate in the California lowlands” were
why grizzly bears were attracted to California (Fimrite). Moreover, change in environment can
affect species that interacted with the grizzly bear. With grizzlies gone, other predators such as
cougar, wolves, and panthers are now dominant in the forest setting. This means a decreased
plant density and extinction of lower scale predators such as squirrels. Certainly many species
such as grizzlies have changed. Grizzlies are no longer present, but their contribution in
ecosystems helped ecosystems flourish.
Grizzly bears once graced California with their existence and while today grizzly bears
are now forever gone, the consequences for the environment, animals, and humans are
irreversible. Nature has forever been affected in the state of California. These bears not only
depict environmental changes, but also the unfortunate force impact civilization creates
Herrera 5
overtime. Now humanity can only hope that they will serve as an example and learn of previous
ancestors. The damage mankind is capable of inflicting upon the environment is not one that
should be taken lightly.
Herrera 6
Works Cited
Cunningham, Laura. A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California. Berkeley, CA:
Heyday, 2010. Print.
Eastcott, John, and Yva Momatiuk. "Grizzly Bear." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web.
04 Dec. 2012. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/grizzly-bear/>.
Fimrite, Peter. "CA Grizzly Bear Monarch: A Symbol of Suffering." SFGate. San
Francisco Chronicle, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2012.San Francisco
"Hunting Bears." Amador Ledger [Jackson] 01 Nov. 1855: 1-4. Print.