Morning manicure
3.5 x 5
acrylic

$200 frame included
award winner

Grizzly Bear  (Ursus arctos)

The fur is yellowish to dark brown with white-tipped hairs.  Front claws are 4" long, the body length is 6-7 feet and weight is up to 1,700 pounds.  The Grizzly has a distinctive hump across the shoulders.  They are omnivorous, eat fish, plants, roots, berries, insects, small and large animals. They cover their unfinished meal with leaves, dirt and branches.  Rocks and logs are turned over looking for the insects and rodents.  The normal range for the Grizzly is Alaska, Northwest territories, British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming and Montana.

The Grizzly adorns the California State Flag.  The flag was first raised on June 14, 1846 in a rebellion after seizing the Sonoma garrison of Colonel Vallejo.  The flag was made of cotton, one star was placed on it, in the fashion of the Texas flag, a red strip placed on the bottom and William Todd, nephew of First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln drew a bear on the flag. The image was quickly refined when Captain Fremont hired artist and map designer, Edward Kern, to redesign the flag. Artist Charles Nahn painted the final Grizzly figure after one of Grizzly Adams' bears.  The last California Grizzly was shot and killed in August, 1922, in Tulare County.