California Grizzly Bear
(Adopted 1953)

Color varies from pale yellowish to dark brown. White tips on its hairs five it a grizzled appearance. Its face is dish shaped in profile, and it has a distinct hump at the shoulder, which is lacking in the Black Bear. Its front claws, which are longer than a Black Bear's, are useful in digging up rodents and excavating dens. Eats meat, fruit, grasses, fish, and other foods. Makes its own trails, which it uses over and over. At one time it was widespread in the Great Plains and the entire West. Now it survives mainly in national parks such as Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff, Jasper, and Denali. It can weigh up to 850 pounds. (The last known California Grizzly Bear was shot and killed in 1922)