Brown Bears in Southern California?

I would imagine that they were black bears but the reporter was ignorant and didn't bother to fact check.

If it was a brown bear in the first incident, Fish & Game wouldn't have merely released it back into the nearby hills.
 
Could they be variant black bears. Black bears come in brown, cinnamon, even white. Colors other than black are more common in temperate dry climates where the black fur is less necessary for keeping the bear warm.
 
It may indeed be "brown" but a black bear, genus and species-wise. hlee is absolutely correct.
 
as mentioned black bears is the name of a species, but it does not mean they are always black..they can commonly be brown do to recessive genetic variation.
 
I used to live in La Verne, there are no grizzlys there or anywhere in California anymore. My understanding is that the last California Grizzly was killed sometime in the early 1900's.

Not to long back I saw a brown-colored Black Bear lumbering around the woods near my house. He was a little guy, sub 200 lbs I'd say.
 
ya that's what I was thinking. it was a brown Bear not a Brown Bear.
I'm relatively new to CA and thought I had done my homework and was pretty sure we only
had the Black variety.

Thanks guys!
 
Well, that is a brown bear. It is, however, a member of the black bear species (Ursus americanus and not Ursus arctos).
 
The only remaining Brown Bear in California outside of a zoo is on the California state flag.
california_state_flag.jpg


The day I photographed these yearling twins, onlookers were sure that they were Griz. Not a chance.
157678639_RuEBH-L.jpg


http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/22491/images/california_state_flag.jpg
157678648_2J5Bg-L.jpg


157678678_pbRSs-L.jpg

Here is a site that might help.

-- FLIX
 
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