Animal – California Grizzly Bear

State Animal
California Grizzly Bear
Ursus arctos californicus
California’s State Animal is the California grizzly bear. As the state’s largest and fiercest predator, the grizzly had California to itself for hundreds of thousands of years. They lived 20-30 years, were 4.5 feet at the shoulder and were 8 feet tall when standing. Females weighed about 400 pounds while males weighed 1,000 pounds. They could run 35 miles per hour for short distances, had a humped shoulder, and were brown-golden in color.
The loss of habitat and over-hunting by a rapidly growing human population led to their complete extinction by the 1920s. In 1953, the California grizzly became the official State Animal and remains one of the state’s most enduring and visible symbols. Notably, California is the only state in the union that carries the image of an extinct animal on its state flag and seal.
Explore our State Symbols
- Amphibian – Red-Legged Frog
- Animal – California Grizzly Bear
- Bat – Pallid Bat
- Bird – California Valley Quail
- Colors – Blue and Gold
- Crustacean – Dungeness Crab
- Dance – West Coast Swing
- Dinosaur – Augustynolophus Morrisi
- Fabric – Denim
- Fife and Drum Band – California Consolidated Drum Band
- Flag
- Flower – California Golden Poppy
- Folk Dance – Square Dance
- FOSSIL – Saber-Toothed Tiger
- Freshwater Fish – California Golden Trout
- Gemstone – Benitoite
- GOLD RUSH GHOST TOWN – Bodie
- Grass – Purple Needlegrass
- Historical Society
- Insect – California Dogface Butterfly
- LGBTQ Veterans Memorial
- Lichen – Lace Lichen
- Marine Fish – Garibaldi
- Marine Mammal – California Gray Whale
- Marine Reptile – Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Military Museum
- Mineral – Gold
- Motto – Eureka
- Mushroom – California Golden Chanterelle
- Nickname – Golden State
- Nuts: Almond, Walnut, Pistachio, Pecan
- PET – Shelter Pet
- Prehistoric Artifact
- Quarter
- Reptile – Desert Tortoise
- ROCK – Serpentine
- Seal
- Seashell – Black Abalone
- Shrub – Bigberry Manzanita
- SILVER RUSH GHOST TOWN – Calico
- SLUG – Banana Slug
- Snake – Giant Garter Snake
- Soil – San Joaquin
- Song – “I Love You, California”
- Sport – Surfing
- Tall Ship – Californian
- Tartan
- Theater – Pasadena Playhouse
- Tree – Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial