<P> The California grizzly ( Ursus arctos californicus ) is an extinct subspecies of the grizzly , the very large North American brown bear . `` Grizzly '' could have meant `` grizzled '' ( that is , with golden and grey tips of the hair ) or `` fear - inspiring '' . Nonetheless , after careful study , naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815 -- not for its hair , but for its character -- as Ursus horribilis ( `` terrifying bear '' ) . Genetically , North American grizzlies are closely related ; in size and coloring , the California grizzly was much like the grizzly of the southern coast of Alaska . In California , it was particularly admired for its beauty , size , and strength . The grizzly became a symbol of the Bear Flag Republic , a moniker that was attached to the short - lived attempt by a group of American settlers to break away from Mexico in 1846 . Later , this rebel flag became the basis for the state flag of California , and then California was known as the `` Bear State . '' </P>
<P> The California grizzly ( Ursus arctos californicus ) is an extinct subspecies of the grizzly , the very large North American brown bear . `` Grizzly '' could have meant `` grizzled '' ( that is , with golden and grey tips of the hair ) or `` fear - inspiring '' . Nonetheless , after careful study , naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815 -- not for its hair , but for its character -- as Ursus horribilis ( `` terrifying bear '' ) . Genetically , North American grizzlies are closely related ; in size and coloring , the California grizzly was much like the grizzly of the southern coast of Alaska . In California , it was particularly admired for its beauty , size , and strength . The grizzly became a symbol of the Bear Flag Republic , a moniker that was attached to the short - lived attempt by a group of American settlers to break away from Mexico in 1846 . Later , this rebel flag became the basis for the state flag of California , and then California was known as the `` Bear State . '' </P>
what kind of bear is the california flag
what kind of bear is the california flag
The grizzly
The grizzly