Grizzly: California Extinct

Grizzly - CALIFORNIA EXTINCT  As a native Californian, specifically a Los Angeleno, I grew up loving the fact that the state animal was the grizzly bear.  I felt proud to be born in the coolest state in America, a state where surfing and grizzly bears went together.  Of course, that all came crashing down on me when I learned that there were no grizzly bears left and that we had, in fact, hunted them to extinction.

Of course the California grizzly bear became a permanent part of the state symbol long before hunters took the last one out. Today, the imagery of the California Republic bear flag has become a pop culture icon peddled on every corner of every surf town along the coast. 

The whole idea of respecting an animal enough to make it a permanent part of your identity and then choosing to hunt them to extinction is, to me,  a total disconnect.

CALIFORNIA EXTINCT is really a reminder of who we have become. We love the bear as long as it is not in our backyard. 

Artist: Rob Whitehair

Digital mixed media: Pencil on Procreate, Photoshop, Acrylic